I am a nursing student in NY about to take NCLEX in a few days. In New York they passed a bill about the Mandatory Flu Shot. I am all for patient safety and preventing a world wide Invasion (u know that movie with Nicole Kidman) get your shot kind of sickness but this is ridiculous and the fact that it happened in NEW YORK CITY first scares the crap out of me and seemingly out of the blue. I see this issue is posted in the Pandemic section but this is a general nursing concern because I mean once again:
it happened in NEW YORK CITY first, it can definitely happen to you in your state
what else are they gonna mandate?
that's why I think it should be in the general nursing forum section...
off my soapbox now and retreating back :chair:
does anybody else see where I am going with this... I mean where does this end because this shouldn't have begun
this can get ugly relatively quickly.
And it could be your state next with a flu shot or something else
I support anyone who chooses the vaccine and also anyone who doesn't. Responsiblity is more than getting the vaccine. It is about protecting yourself, family and pt's. The vaccine only does a part and only protects against certain strands. For those who choose not to get the vaccine due to allergies, religion or whatever great. Just need to make sure you do what is required (wear mask) and what is right. The same goes for those who get the vaccine.
I just hope that we will quit making judgments on people's decisions when other options are available that can be protecting and maintain your job.
For our facility, what upset me was how the information was communicated. It is sad that the wording is out to make you feel bad about not getting a vaccine. The declination form could be worded without the guilt trip. (I have seen them out there that does not do this)
They are putting signs everywhere stating "Show you care about your pt's by getting a flu vaccine". And I am supposed to feel like a good nurse how? What does this tell our pt's? That this is the only way to go?
So by wearing a mask I am admitting lack of care. But in actuality I am showing I care by providing a different way of protecting my pt, myself and others around me. (and hopefully not only will it cover flu but other illnesses that I could spread that do not have a vaccine)
Why don't we ALL wear masks all the time at the hospital?
Both vaccinated and unvaccinated, plus visitors too.
Let's say that the vaccine is safe, but the researchers missed using the proper strain by a country mile. (It HAS happened before--they used the wrong strains--their best guess was wrong.)
So another strain will be circulating and spread by HCP's, visitors, patients, ect.
If we REALLY cared about our patients we would want to protect them from ALL of the cold and flu strains out there, even in the summer too. Patients don't just catch colds from November till April.
The Spanish influenza of 1918 killed more than 40 million healthy people!!! It was a fast way to die. They were healthy in the morning, and dead at night. The seasonal flu shot does prevent the flu. How can you think that getting a shot to prevent illness or the spread of illness is stupid? Do your children get their immunizations? I had the flu about 15 years ago, lots worse than a cold. I get the flu shot every year, I have never gotten the flu from the flu shot, because you can't get the flu from the flu shot. It's a dead and inactive flu virus. I am watching for S/E and effectiveness of the H1N1 shot.
Many people are not saying getting the flu shot is stupid. Just respect the choice others have for their reason. You can prevent spread by other means. Besides if everyone is vaccinated but yourself, then the only one to get it is you. (generalizing)
You can't get the flu shot from the flu but you can still get it.
Besides the scare is the H1N1. That is not a mandatory vaccine (for us at least) and many more are not getting the vaccine for it.
To answere the question of "Do your children get their immunizations?" Not really. Some were given but reactions occurred.
Wow guys... larger fish to fry? Just got my regular flu shot last week. Geez! You infuse people with all sorts of stuff everyday and you are having flu shot issues? Hey, you had to get your shots when you were all kids to be allowed in school too. Life goes on.
Don't remember ever hearing that any of the "childhood" vaccines were ever rushed to market, w/o adequate testing
Wow guys... larger fish to fry? Just got my regular flu shot last week. Geez! You infuse people with all sorts of stuff everyday and you are having flu shot issues? Hey, you had to get your shots when you were all kids to be allowed in school too. Life goes on.
We don't tell patients that if they refuse their medication then we're going to take their jobs away. Plus, most of the medication is well known enough to provide for an informed consent.
This vaccine is made the same way as the seasonal flu vaccine, it is not anywhere close to medical experimentation. They used the same technology that has existed, very safely, for years, it is just a different strain of virus going into it. Do you really think the yearly seasonal flu vaccine rolls out with any more extensive testing than this H1N1 vaccine?
Everyone on this board chose to become a healthcare provider. That choice comes with responsibility. We are mandated to do yearly TB tests, to show proof of other childhood immunizations. All of this is in order to protect our patients. I do not see how this mandate is any different, especially when most that I have heard of give you the option to either get the shot or wear a mask. You have a choice. You choose to become a nurse, and with that choice comes responsibility. You can't come to work drunk and risk patient safety. Likewise, you can't come to work potentially harboring a virus that could harm your susceptable patients without doing something to mitigate that risk. I do not think this is asking too much.
I keep hearing that it's "made the same way" and I'm not doubting this point. The fact is that the vaccine is made the same way but it is not necessarily the same. All of previous flu vaccines contain human influenza; only once has swine influenza been used in a flu vaccine (which was made the same way). In that case, at least 25 people died and hundreds of others were disabled. Further, this vaccine contains avian flu variants which have, to my knowledge, never been adequately tested in any human population. Plus, no one has ever been vaccinated with the H1N1 influenza vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine at the same time until now (or a few weeks apart). We have already discussed other mandated vaccines. There are plenty of things we could do that would theoretically help out patients, that doesn't mean that they're ethical, or practicable. Coming to work drunk has nothing to do with this topic. We already mitigate risks to patients by staying home when sick and wearing protective barriers. There is no need for the government and employers to force a mass-inoculation on us.
Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.
I have not heard that nurses were being threatened with their jobs, only that they would be required to take other protective measures, like masks etc. Is that what is happening with you MikeyBSN? If so, I am so sorry for you...nothing like a huge case of your employer getting carried away.
Specializes in PACU, ICU,UTIL.REVIEW,INFECT.CONTROL.
i agree a politician shouldn't decide for me what kind of shots i get. but at the same time, mandatory shots are a part of the nursing profession. who here flinched when they were asked for proof of their mmr vaccination? we expect some vaccinations to be mandatory. is it just that h1n1 is so new that we're resisting the vaccine?[/quote]
hell yes, cat!! i had no problem taking any other vaccines but this crap scares me and so many of my co-workers. how the heck can so many people feel a 'certain' negative, foreboding feeling about h1n1 shot in the arm while the health authority gestabo continue to ignore this instinctial sensation...? i consider myself to be a good, caring nurse, concerned about the health and welfare of my patients even though as an h.h.c. r.n. i am constantly subject to abuse, extremely heavy workload, long after hours shifts, false accusations, poo-pooed concerns and scorn by the public and administration {with their weak spines:jester:} i willingly serve the public every day as i have since 1982.
my pension is vested so i could walk should i decide to do so but with 8 years left to serve i remain confused, angry and am so tired of writing to non-responsive officials about my concerns related to this mandate. i am rnsick of it!!!!
I think nurses wearing masks is a great thing. That way all we have to worry about are the dietary staff, housekeepers, office staff, the clerk who checks you out at Wally World, the fast food worker who hands you your breakfast, your kids coming home from school, your spouse's coworker who never calls in sick, all the folks at the movie theater, and a couple of million other people I failed to mention. Yep, seeing all the nurses wearing masks makes me feel warm and safe all over.
I have not heard that nurses were being threatened with their jobs, only that they would be required to take other protective measures, like masks etc. Is that what is happening with you MikeyBSN? If so, I am so sorry for you...nothing like a huge case of your employer getting carried away.
It varies by state and by employer. The NY state mandate has no provision that allows you to forgo the immunization and wear a mast. Currently, I am not under any type of mandate and I would like to keep it that way.
StrwbryblndRN
658 Posts
I support anyone who chooses the vaccine and also anyone who doesn't. Responsiblity is more than getting the vaccine. It is about protecting yourself, family and pt's. The vaccine only does a part and only protects against certain strands. For those who choose not to get the vaccine due to allergies, religion or whatever great. Just need to make sure you do what is required (wear mask) and what is right. The same goes for those who get the vaccine.
I just hope that we will quit making judgments on people's decisions when other options are available that can be protecting and maintain your job.
For our facility, what upset me was how the information was communicated. It is sad that the wording is out to make you feel bad about not getting a vaccine. The declination form could be worded without the guilt trip. (I have seen them out there that does not do this)
They are putting signs everywhere stating "Show you care about your pt's by getting a flu vaccine". And I am supposed to feel like a good nurse how? What does this tell our pt's? That this is the only way to go?
So by wearing a mask I am admitting lack of care. But in actuality I am showing I care by providing a different way of protecting my pt, myself and others around me. (and hopefully not only will it cover flu but other illnesses that I could spread that do not have a vaccine)