Can one become a nurse if one has Genital Herpes?

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My friend and I are wanting to join the nursing program at our local community college and she may have genital herpes. She is still awaiting the test results. We are really wanting to do this together for one anothers support, but is it possible to become a nurse if she does have genital herpes?

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

yes, denying admission would be discrimination.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Why would you consider this a contraindication to nursing?

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Specializes in Home Care, Hospice, OB.

i'm assuming your friend will wear pants to work and wash her hands...???????????:confused:

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methylene said:
Why would you consider this a contraindication to nursing?

Well mainly she was afraid to ask anyone about it and we both were unsure of what to expect. After all we are entering the program but have not taken any of the bloodtest or shots that are required to be admitted to the program. Didn't want to sound naive but we just didn't know.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

There should be absolutely no reason why a person with genital herpes could not be a nurse.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Serenity9595 said:
Well mainly she was afraid to ask anyone about it and we both were unsure of what to expect. After all we are entering the program but have not taken any of the bloodtest or shots that are required to be admitted to the program. Didn't want to sound naive but we just didn't know.

For nursing schools, you generally have to complete a physical exam. If that's part of her medical history, it should accurately be listed. However, such things are to remain confidential and should have no bearing on admissions. Additionally, herpes simplex is spread through direct physical contact with active lesions or body fluids, so BlueRidge's comment about wearing pants and washing hands is really more than enough to make this a non-issue.

I don't know of any field of nursing that involves rubbing your uncovered perineum against a patient's, so I don't anticipate it'd be a problem.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

There is no reason for genital herpes to even come up. As BlueRidge stated, if you are wearing pants during the outbreak, washing hands and following all standard precautions, there is no reason for this to interfere on being a nurse. I don't even believe it has to be mentioned for the physical, to be honest. I just would not mention this fact in the classroom, though...to ensure your own privacy.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
pagandeva2000 said:
There is no reason for genital herpes to even come up. As BlueRidge stated, if you are wearing pants during the outbreak, washing hands and following all standard precautions, there is no reason for this to interfere on being a nurse. I don't even believe it has to be mentioned for the physical, to be honest. I just would not mention this fact in the classroom, though...to ensure your own privacy.

For our physical (form supplied by the school) we had to detail all health issues and disease histories. I suppose you could lie by omission and no one would know better, but that'd be an ethical call you'd have to make (privacy versus honesty).

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I'd say herpes are among the least of her problems. Getting into nursing school is difficult. What will either one of you do if the other doesn't make it into the programme for any other reason?

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Specializes in ER, PACU, Med-Surg, Hospice, LTC.

HI!

  • Percentage of adults that have herpes: 1 in 4
  • Estimated number of new cases of herpes a year: 1 million
  • Percentage of infected persons who don't know they have herpes: Over 50% of those infected don't realize it because they don't have the classic outbreak pattern, and often dismiss it as an annoying itch or rash.
  • More woman have herpes than men

It is very common.

Keep the information to yourself. Nobody need to know........and good luck with Nursing school!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, ED.

I don't think its a reportable illness, and you do not have to put it on your school physical form. The school wants to know more about things like lifting restrictions and conditions that would hinder your ability to do the job; herpes has nothing to do with any of that.

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