Anti-vax nurses? Are you serious?

[dinah77, ADN]

We were discussing the Disneryland measles outbreak at work, and I was appalled to find some of my co-workers refuse to vaccinate their kids. They (grudgingly) receive the vaccines they need to remain employed, but doubt their safety/necessity for their kids.

I must say, I am absolutley stunned. How can one be a nurse and deny science?

As a nurse, you should darn well know what the scientific method entails and what phrases such as "evidence based" and "peer reviewed" mean.

I have to say, I have lost most of my respect for the nurses and mistrust their judgement; after all, if they deny science, on what premise are they basing their practices?

[brownbook]

You are preaching to the choir. It is embarrassing to hear at work, or read on All Nurses, anti-science, anti-evidence based opinions.

I know, assume, they had to take college level inorganic and organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, etc,. I don't get it?

i know, it is the big bad government/pharmacological conspiracy to make money regardless of how many people are harmed or killed in the name of the all mighty stock holders profit margin.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

If you do a little research on here you will see just how many healthcare providers limit/all out refuse vaccines for their children. I often just don't comment on the threads as the ignorance is just a little too much to deal with sometimes. Nevermind that several of the vaccines these parents refuse are ones that they received as children and.. SHOCKING survived, didn't develop autism, or any other BS that they can come up with. It honestly just infuriates me, but alas you are usually talking to brick wall and there is little common sense involved. I vaccinate my family to keep them safe and to provide herd immunity for those who cannot receive vaccines due to age, illness, and ignorance of parents.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I know, assume, they had to take college level inorganic and organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, etc,. I don't get it?

I'm not part of the anti-vaccine camp, but simply wanted to mention that not all nurses have taken the same prerequisite coursework or nursing classes.

I'm educated at the ADN level and never took any college-level chemistry coursework until last year, when I enrolled in an online BSN degree completion program and had to take biochemistry without a corresponding practical lab portion.

[OldDude]

I am an elementary school nurse in Texas. Students can be exempted from the state immunization requirements for "reasons of conscious" if a parent provides a notarized affidavit every 2 years. I'm seeing more and more of these the past few years.....worrisome to me.

[brownbook]

I over heard the funniest (to me) comment. Anti vaccinate parents, if they have pets, have vaccinate their pets! How do they reconcile that?

[RNperdiem, RN]

I don't think it matters what courses one took in school in this case. I suspect there is an emotional element, and that element is fear.

Fear can make people deny science. Being human, we don't always fear what we need to rationally fear most.

[OldDude]

I over heard the funniest (to me) comment. Anti vaccinate parents, if they have pets, have vaccinate their pets! How do they reconcile that?

I'd like to hear that explanation, or rather, rationalization.

[floridanurse1983]

I wonder if they really look at their logic. They hate the idea of a risk of autism. But there is also a risk of death from the actual disease. Makes me want to ask them: Do you hate autistic kids so much you'd rather have your child die than be like them?

[RainMom]

I over heard the funniest (to me) comment. Anti vaccinate parents, if they have pets, have vaccinate their pets! How do they reconcile that?

It really is kind of a phenomenon. I often noted while working in a office that patients made sure their pets had better preventative care than they or their kids did.

[featherzRN, MSN]

I'm the opposite - I don't vaccinate my indoor cats past adulthood except for state mandated rabies shots, but if I had kids they'd get every vaccine I could get for them.

[Libby1987]

I'm not part of the anti-vaccine camp, but simply wanted to mention that not all nurses have taken the same prerequisite coursework or nursing classes.

I'm educated at the ADN level and never took any college-level chemistry coursework until last year, when I enrolled in an online BSN degree completion program and had to take biochemistry without a corresponding practical lab portion.

I always thought the pre req's were the same?

I have known a few nurses who I wondered how they ever got through inorganic chem..