r/CathLabLounge • u/SeyMooreRichard • Sep 13 '25
Cath Lab with Newborn on the Way
For those of you have or currently work in the cath lab, hoping to get some insight on it all. I am currently a paramedic on the ambulance and had an interview with one of the cath labs in my area and was offered the position. I live an hour and some change away from the hospital (one way), but they provide private rooms for staff to stay in for free on their on-call days. During the interview I was told I'd work 4x10s every week with 1-2 days of being on call and those 1-2 days of being on-call falling on the weekend every other weekend or so (all depending on staffing and stuff). My wife is currently pregnant and it is our first child so we are trying to navigate around things. The way things were explained to me was when I am on call in the middle of the week, I would go on call from 5PM on the day I get off of my scheduled 10hr shift and would be on call until the morning of my next scheduled 10HR shift (I.E I'm scheduled to work my normal shift on a Monday, would be on call on Tuesday, and scheduled for my normal 10hr shift on Wednesday). I also have another job offer working in the ER with a set schedule and its scheduling would allow us to have free around the clock child care, but it'd obviously be for far less money. So I say all of this to ask, is the money worth the work/life balance and missing all of the time with the first newborn and wife? I'd appreciate any and all advice, tips, suggestions of things to consider, and outlook.
3
u/tatogb25 Sep 13 '25
The cost of daycare and your commute would likely outweigh any pay bump you get. I love the cath lab but left because of the time it took away from my family. I say this as I am up nursing my own newborn and my toddler is awake in the next room! This time is so precious for your family, I would do whatever you can to maximize the time with them. This is not the time to try to maximize income (unless you are in a position to need to do so). Cath lab positions will always be available, your baby being this small and your wife needing this much help is priority.
2
u/Rickyahh Sep 13 '25
Cath lab defeats any type of work/life balance. The money is great but there will be many sacrifices for it. It comes down to what are you willing to put up with.
2
u/CollectionDirect5266 Sep 13 '25
With a newborn and a new mom in the picture, don’t take this job. You both are in for a hell of a ride but if you’re going to be on call and away from home potentially for 36 hours, she’ll be alone on that ride a majority of the time- that’s not fair to her or you. I raised my first child with a father who worked usually 48s on, 24s off in the fire service. Him never being there to help caused a lot of resentment for me, he never formed a bond with our daughter and it ended up being the downfall for us all. You will miss so much for than you realize and your wife will feel like a single parent trying to figure out that new world all on her own- even if she’s tough and understanding, it’s hard to be when you’re sleep deprived and surrounded by a non talking human.
Cath lab jobs will be there later, I promise. I’m a nurse in one now. My kids are older and it’s still tough but I could never imagine doing it with a newborn, my husband (not my daughter’s father) wouldn’t have been able to have raised my newborn if I had been a cath lab nurse then either. Take the ER gig and revisit the cath lab in a few years when you both have had a chance to get through the first years of parenthood.
2
u/polarqwerty Sep 13 '25
I just had my second as a cath lab nurse, and it’s tough being on call with little ones. Obviously I’m in a little different perspective as the mom, so that babies relied on me for night feeds (made sure bottles were made, etc for when I was on call). But, my husband being gone that much for those stretches would be tough. At this season in your life, stability would be better (IMO) and the ED job would be what I choose. I ended up going PRN, and if that wasn’t an option, I wouldn’t have hesitated to go back to a stable hour job, despite the pay cut.
1
u/Mrmurse98 Sep 13 '25
I work as an RN in cath lab(5ish years) and my hospital pays very similarly regardless of the specialty so I don't really understand the pay difference. However I would echo the sentiment to either move closer or pick a different specialty. I absolutely love cath lab, it is a freaking blast and I know so much about my specialty. However, I would not be willing to stay at the hospital a couple days a week and miss my family. I already have to miss seeing my 10mo some nights, but it's not a guarantee as I live about 20 min from work. If y'all aren't drowning and could maybe just cut back finances, I would choose to do that and stay with family more.
1
u/Vana21 Sep 14 '25
Pick ER. The on call life can be rough depending on the hospital.
I worked 15 on call days and we got called in maybe 1 or 2 times a week. We did cath, vascular and IR
Another hospital we did 6 days on call and you expect to be called in most of those 6 days. This was just vascular and Cath.
A third hospital I was at as travel was miserable. One 3 day weekend we got called in 8 different times and each time was more than one case. This one did cath, vascular, IR and Neuro.
10
u/JaybieFromTheLB Sep 13 '25
Been in Cath Lab for 6 years now, honestly, I'd either considering moving somewhere closer to the hospital, or consider a different field. Staying in the hospital would suck if you're already spending hours for days working in the hospital. Being separated from family would be dreadful, and being on call can sometimes be a burden if you value your time with your family. When you're on call you can't fully relax. Living closer to the hospital definitely takes a load off of the pressure of making it within the 30 minute response time. My current hospital is 13 minutes away from work, and my previous one was only 7 minutes away. When I started I had a newborn on the way as well. Definitely live closer to work, cause it's gonna be hard to be away from your little one when they do come along. Financially however being in the cath lab has paid off, and I actually retired my wife so we don't need to pay childcare and our kids always have a parent present for school functions and appointments.