Doing H&V screening post H1N1 mass vaccination....

That is the main reason I was praying my district did not do in-school H1N1 immunizations and ask us to give them. Ultimately the district did not give the shots, and I was relieved. We work so hard to gain the trust of some of these kids, and many are already suspicious of healthcare providers. I have had kids start crying when they see me giving a diabetic kid her insulin because they think they are next! I can only imagine if I had to give them all shots, they would never come to my office again!

It is great in theory to have this right at school, maybe not so great in practice unless a different nurse could do it. Maybe nurses could even give the shots at another school and switch off with that nurse, just to try and keep the trust intact?

School nurses have taken on many roles in the school located vaccinations clinics. In some schools it is a supportive role, in others it is actually giving the vaccine. It depends on the resources of the lcoal communtity. I love the idea of switching off schools.

School located clinics are reported in the literature as having a significantly higher success rate in getting children vaccinated. In one study alone, the difference in vaccination rates between schools with school located clinics and those that did not ranged from 53% -69% in the schools without clinics to 84%- 93% in the schools that held in school clinics (Hall Galil Watson & Seward, 2000). Having children immunized against the seasonal flu results in a significantly lower mortality rate from pneumonia among elderly in those communities (Reichert et al., 2001). In addition, schools that hold clinics have significantly lower absentee rates than schools that do not..

Thanks for posting that Martha.

It is *very* hard dealing with kids that now fear me... but ultimately, it's for the GREATER GOOD! Thanks for that gentle reminder.

I needed to hear that.