Can I still be a nurse?

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Practically all nursing schools I've looked into require vaccinations of some sort. Unfortunately I don't react well to vaccines. I had a PPD test last year that made my chest hot as an oven and a case of chronic fatigue that i'm still recovering from. I would need an MMR shot (low immunity to measles, even though I had the shots as a kid) and a flu shot, and I won't get a flu shot. Is there an lax nursing schools out there that won't require shots, or is there a way around it? Some may say don't be a nurse but that's all I've ever really wanted to do and it's the only career that peeks my interest =/

Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.

My school has a 3 try policy. If you are still non-reactive after 3 times of getting the vaccine you are marked as non-reactive (for hep b, varicella and MMR). The flu and TDaP depends on the clinical site. PPD would require a blood test and or a CXR.

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Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.
Some vaccines make me feel extremely unwell. Tdap and MMR are the absolute worst. Others, like the flu vaccine, just make my arm a little sore. In every case, the effects are temporary, though.

If you've been feeling "chronic fatigue" for the past year, you should discuss that with your health care provider. There's a very good chance that it's not related to the PPD test you had ...and you're not likely to do well in school suffering from chronic fatigue, anyway.

I agree that your symptoms are highly unlikely due to the PPD.

You need to get healthy and immunized before you can care for the sick.

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A hot chest and chronic fatigue x 1 year do not sound like repercussions of the TB test. Nursing is an art and a science. If you don't believe in the science part for your own health (ie vaccines) then you should not become a nurse in my brutally honest opinion.

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Specializes in ICU, Postpartum, Onc, PACU.

At some places you may be able to get around the flu shot (I never get them), but the other ones, I don't think there's a way around. When I was in school (I graduated in 2007) I didn't have to get the flu shot I just had to wear a mask around patients, which is how it still is at many hospitals. However, the bigger vaccinations? I'm not sure there's a way around it. Have you even asked the schools what they do if someone is allergic? You're not the only one with this problem so I'd think there would be ways for them to work with you.

xo

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
At some places you may be able to get around the flu shot (I never get them), but the other ones, I don't think there's a way around. When I was in school (I graduated in 2007) I didn't have to get the flu shot I just had to wear a mask around patients, which is how it still is at many hospitals. However, the bigger vaccinations? I'm not sure there's a way around it. Have you even asked the schools what they do if someone is allergic? You're not the only one with this problem so I'd think there would be ways for them to work with you.

xo

Again, it is not a school issue. Clinical sites will NOT expose their patients to unvaccinated nursing students. Nor will those same clinics, hospitals et al, hire unvaccinated folks. The end.

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It's going to be impossible for you to pass nursing school when you aren't allowed to do clinicals because you refuse to get some of your vaccines.

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Specializes in Sleep medicine.

I also am sensitive to vaccines and have been advised not to get them by my doc. However, it was required by my school (my school threatened expulsion for anyone without the measles vaccine, even though I had doc orders not to get any) and I spent some time at the VA where there's no exceptions. I did get the vaccines one at a time over a period of six months and while my doc wasn't happy, he understood. Fortunately I didn't end up hospitalized, and the risk and sickness that followed was worth it (and ended up being milder than my prior reactions, so that's good!). If you really want to be a nurse, you're really going to want to be protected from the yucky things our patients have. Find a doc who knows your history and have him/her help you do it slowly. Or like others have said, find another sector. Healthcare administration maybe?

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Specializes in Psych.

No. Get your shots, and follow up with your doctor. You need them.

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Specializes in Short Term/Skilled.

It's likely going to be mandatory anywhere you go. Not to mention that It will also likely be mandatory for any future job offers.

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Specializes in Short Term/Skilled.

I just have to throw this out there for whomever it applies to.

If you're sensitive to the vax, imagine how sensitive you would be to the viruses the vaccines are protecting you against.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology.

My program makes it absolutely mandatory to be vaccinated, which includes an annual PPD and an annual flu shot. If you do not comply, you will not be allowed on your clinical sites.

Also, as someone who works at the hospital, the same requirements apply for work. Nursing is not a field for someone who is not willing to get a flu shot or PPD.

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I won't hammer what has already been posted - you won't realistically be an effective provider at all (if you can even go through school) if you do not vaccinate. There are literally millions of jobs out there if you can't be vaccinated. Start looking.

Also, my best friends husband has chronic fatigue. It has completely halted his life. He can't get out of bed most days, or read a book for more than 20 minutes, much less work in a physical job (he was a paralegal and had to leave when he became sick). I'm not trying to scare you, and I know people have differing degrees of CF, but you may want to look into a less physically demanding career to have in case you take a turn. He went from being kind of tired all the time to having all sorts of deficiencies that do not respond to treatment and being essentially bedridden. Have you seen specialists?

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