Conestoga RPN Students: Have any of you successfully refused the flu shot?

zzbxdo · Mar 12, 2016

Take the damn shot.

Ally Smith · Mar 13, 2016

That's obviously been ruled out as an option for me, but thanks for taking the time to comment!

Eru IlÃºvatar · Mar 13, 2016

That's obviously been ruled out as an option for me, but thanks for taking the time to comment!

Why cant you take the shot? Medical reasons are the only valid ones being accepted at the moment.

xokw, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2016

Hello,
I have been accepted to Conestoga College's RPN September 2016 program and the only thing I am concerned about is being forced to take the flu shot.
Has anyone on here refused, or know of someone who did and was still able to continue in the program and placements?
Thanks so much in advance for your help,
Ally

I am a current Conestoga (McMaster) student, so I can tell you with 100% certainty that you absolutely cannot refuse the flu shot in this program. It is the school policy, and even if you have a medical reason it does not matter. You are not permitted to attend placement without a flu shot which is an automatic failure. It is a non-negotiable at this school regardless of the reason you have (the reason I say this is because this is a newer policy and (apparently) a 2nd year BScN student at the Conestoga campus could not get her flu shot and no exception was made. Naturally, this caused a big hoopla but ultimately it did not go in the student's favour).

From what we are told there is no exception whatsoever, but I would definitely urge you to contact Conestoga's "Practicum Services" (number should be on website and easy to find, I'm not sure I'm allowed to post a phone number on here?) and they can confirm 100%.

xokw, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2016

Why cant you take the shot? Medical reasons are the only valid ones being accepted at the moment.

Conestoga doesn't even accept a medical reason due to patient safety. They tell you upfront before starting the program so you can choose whether you want to continue or not.

Ally Smith · Mar 13, 2016

Thanks xokw, it's good to know one way or another!

Eru IlÃºvatar · Mar 13, 2016

Conestoga doesn't even accept a medical reason due to patient safety. They tell you upfront before starting the program so you can choose whether you want to continue or not.

Well that would be illegal, if you cant get a flu shot because it can kill you then you have a right to refuse. But you need an actual medical consultation about it. Good luck with your endeavors.

Eru IlÃºvatar · Mar 13, 2016

I am a current Conestoga (McMaster) student, so I can tell you with 100% certainty that you absolutely cannot refuse the flu shot in this program. It is the school policy, and even if you have a medical reason it does not matter. You are not permitted to attend placement without a flu shot which is an automatic failure. It is a non-negotiable at this school regardless of the reason you have (the reason I say this is because this is a newer policy and (apparently) a 2nd year BScN student at the Conestoga campus could not get her flu shot and no exception was made. Naturally, this caused a big hoopla but ultimately it did not go in the student's favour).
From what we are told there is no exception whatsoever, but I would definitely urge you to contact Conestoga's "Practicum Services" (number should be on website and easy to find, I'm not sure I'm allowed to post a phone number on here?) and they can confirm 100%.

If you have a valid medical reason that has been determined by a physician I would say you should have a case to bring to court if it needed to be. When we as a society do vaccinations we always foresee a margin for people who cant get them, and thats fine. I agree that for patient safety everyone should be vaccinated but discrimination from a school towards those that have a valid medical reason not to be vaccinated would have a good chance to be contested in court of law I would say.

xokw, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2016

If you have a valid medical reason that has been determined by a physician I would say you should have a case to bring to court if it needed to be. When we as a society do vaccinations we always foresee a margin for people who cant get them, and thats fine. I agree that for patient safety everyone should be vaccinated but discrimination from a school towards those that have a valid medical reason not to be vaccinated would have a good chance to be contested in court of law I would say.

It has to do with liability. The school is just not willing to take on students and place them in hospitals around sick patients if the student is not vaccinated, which could result in illness for both the student but with the main concern being for the patient. It isn't a legal matter because it isn't as if someone is coming to your house telling you you must be vaccinated, they are saying if YOU choose to attend OUR school, you must be able to abide by our policies. This is what was told to us when the flu vaccine became mandatory at Conestoga this winter.

xokw, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2016

Well that would be illegal, if you cant get a flu shot because it can kill you then you have a right to refuse. But you need an actual medical consultation about it. Good luck with your endeavors.

Not illegal in any way whatsoever, it's a voluntary choice to attend this school with that policy, no one is forcing anything, the school merely says that if you want to attend here, these are the policies (this is what they told us as many questioned the policy change this year).

Again, this is just what is being passed down to us from the dean of nursing and practicum services, so I definitely suggest contacting PS directly and inquiring. I would love to know what they say because I've never personally inquired and am certainly curious as I question the legalities of it myself regardless of the brief description they gave us students.

Ally Smith · Mar 13, 2016

Eru lluvatar, I agree with you. I will contact someone at the College directly when the time comes, but thought I'd post here first to see if anyone had any experience with it. I can't believe that a person would be denied entry to the program over a vaccine that has a very questionable and varied effectiveness rate....not to mention that they do not protect against all strains, and that anyone working in and amongst other people are all at risk of catching something. There are two very contrasting and valid sides to the flu shot debate, and I am not looking for a debate here, but I think we do need to be aware of our rights as patients and workers alike, which some of us sometimes are all at once.