The first thing you will notice with nursing is that the career is still heavily dominated by women and the majority of bedside nurses are younger. A diligent student right out high school can become a nurse at the age of 22 years old. Throughout their careers, they may continue to advanced degrees and advanced positions. The majority of bedside nurses, this is very general and every unit may be slightly different, will comprise mostly of females 25 to 35 years old. This age range will see two trends, one, weddings and the second is pregnancies.
I myself have crossed the threshold of the wedding and currently working on that pregnancy. I am not one of the lucky women that can become pregnant in one or two cycles of trying, nor am I the woman who will portray that I am. I have PCOS, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, long story short, my ovaries are larger than they should, I have a string of cyst on both ovaries and my hormones are wacky. I am more prone to weight gain, acne, sleep issue, dark hair in unwanted areas, and I have my period about four times a year. Just to make matters worse I also work nights. My circadian rhythm is everywhere except where it should be.
But why am I sharing all this, you might ask. It is not uncommon to see multiple co-workers get married. The month of my wedding I had five other co-workers also get married a month either before or after me. There have been a constant line of nurses pregnant, maternity leave than came back and deal with pumping issues.
I have never been one to hide my struggles, maybe not shout them from the rooftop, but when asked I am always truthful and blunt. If I am going through this than so many other nurses are also beating themselves up because either a home pregnancy or ovulation test was negative again. Be happy for those co-workers who are pregnant or just had a child. A little jealousy is fine as long as you don’t act on it. But remember you are not alone if anyone else I am right there.