Fired for refusing??

[Indyrn00]

Thoughts on employer mandatory Flu vaccine...

[elkpark]

If a nurse is going to loose their job or get the shot, that is forced.

No, it isn't. It's the individual's choice to meet the employer's conditions of employment or find an employer with requirements more to one's liking. "Forced" is someone holding you down and sticking a needle in your arm against your will.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

If a nurse is going to loose their job or get the shot that is forced.[/quote']

This is called a "consequence" it is not being "forced".

[jordan1230]

I understand that they are not literally being forced. But, if a healthcare worker has to choose between getting this vaccination or feeding their family...it's forced.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

I understand that they are not literally being forced. But if a healthcare worker has to choose between getting this vaccination or feeding their family...it's forced.[/quote']

In that instance wouldn't you choose feeding your family? Seems like an easy choice.

I think you mean between getting a vaccine AND feeding your family or not getting a vaccine and not feeding your family? Either way it's a choice. One has consequences.

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

I understand that they are not literally being forced. But, if a healthcare worker has to choose between getting this vaccination or feeding their family...it's forced.

It is no different than any other job requirement such OSHA, JC, credentialing etc. The only thing different is people trying to make the flu vaccine into some giant conspiracy theory.

[jordan1230]

I'm sorry but, I view safety hats and yearly injections, slightly different....

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

I'm sorry but, I view safety hats and yearly injections, slightly different....

How about the potential safety effects from using anti-bacterial soaps or the thousands of chemicals we have to use/come in contact due to our job requirements? How is that different? The flu vaccine is proven to protect patients with a very good safety profile, so it isn't different in my mind at all.

[jordan1230]

How about the potential safety effects from using anti-bacterial soaps or the thousands of chemicals we have to use/come in contact due to our job requirements? How is that different? The flu vaccine is proven to protect patients with a very good safety profile, so it isn't different in my mind at all.

What are the chances of you developing GBS or another adverse reaction from anti-bacterial soap? And the main difference is that I'm not being made to inject these chemicals directly into my body.

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

What are the chances of you developing GBS or another adverse reaction from anti-bacterial soap? And the main difference is that I'm not being made to inject these chemicals directly into my body.

What is the chance of getting GBS after the flu shot? There is causal link, but not causative link between the two again you need to actually look at the scientific literature on this.

FDA: Antibacterial soaps could pose health risks

Vaccines and Guillain-Barré syndrome. [Drug Saf. 2009] - PubMed - NCBI

CDC - Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) | Seasonal Influenza (Flu)

[elkpark]

If the annual flu shot is that big a deal for some people, perhaps they would be happier in another line of work not related to healthcare. The trend over time is clearly in the direction of healthcare employers mandating vaccination. As time goes on, it's going to be harder and harder to find a healthcare employer that doesn't consider it a condition of employment. Whether or not that is actually justified and whether or not we individually agree or disagree with that is, ultimately, immaterial. I have no problem with people objecting to the vaccination; left to my own devices, I wouldn't take it (and didn't, for many years, until my current employer -- but, on the other hand, I wasn't working in direct client care during that time, either). But the reality of working in healthcare these days and going forward is that it is becoming less and less optional and more of a requirement.

[Retired APRN, MSN, RN, APRN]

As with so many other issues that come up in these forums, it's all about choices and consequences, as has been said. You have the right to choose not to receive the flu shot. Your employer has the right to require it. Neither right trumps the other. If you choose not to get the shot, you implicitly accept the consequence of losing the job. If your employers chooses to require the flu shot for all employees, they implicitly accept the possible consequence of losing some employees.

One party's right does not trump the other's. That's life; might as well get used to it.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I understand that they are not literally being forced. But, if a healthcare worker has to choose between getting this vaccination or feeding their family...it's forced.

Forced is when a bunch of people hold you down kicking and screaming while someone jabs a needle in your arm. What you're illustrating is just a tough choice -- obviously tougher for some than for others.