Held Down and Forced to Take The FLu Shot

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Allright guys, here is my problem:

My mom works as a CNA?CMA in a nursing home. The nursing home is forcing people to take flu shots this year. My mom has never taken a flu shot, she is just a strong believer in not taking it. She knows that I think this is a stupid attidute, but I also respect her right to say no to the shot.

After about a month of trying to bully people into taking thier flu shots with saying that people won't get their pay check, etc. After a couple of calls to the labor board that got fixed pretty fast.

So here is their new tactict: Call people into their office, physically hold them down, and give them the shot.

Of course my mom is terrified. My advice to her was this: As soon as one of the administrators touches her to try to hold her down I told her to call 911. I told her to be sure to let them know that if they try to physically force her to take the flu shot. If they as much as touch her to try to hold her down to take that damn thing she will call 911 and press assault and battery charges against them. I told her to let them know that they have 3 options:

A: Leave me alone, I'll sign a paper that you offered it and I declined.

B: Fire me and we will take the legal route for wrongfull termination.

C: Touch me, give me the shot and I will call 911 and press charges.

So fire away and give me your opinion. What can she do?

I have worked at places were you are mandated to get the Flu shot. Refusal meant you quit your job. This was mainly at LT facilities. Only way out of it you had to have Dr excuse showing an allergy to the flu vaccine.

boneta

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This really sounds more and more like an urban myth to me

I agree with you completely. How could the people in charge of the nursing home not know that this constitutes assault? I don't buy this at all.

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Specializes in NICU,ICU,ER,MS,CHG.SUP,PSYCH,GERI.

So what is the name of this facility and where is it located?

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

If having an injection is an issue, the nasal version works........... Next year your mom could go to a Public Health agency, get that and produce a form that says she had it.

If she is 50 y/o or older, the nasal vaccine will not be indicated.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/nasalspray.htm

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
I have worked at places were you are mandated to get the Flu shot. Refusal meant you quit your job. This was mainly at LT facilities. Only way out of it you had to have Dr excuse showing an allergy to the flu vaccine.

boneta

Interesting. Did they also refuse visitors during flu season?

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Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
allright guys, here is my problem:

my mom works as a cna?cma in a nursing home. the nursing home is forcing people to take flu shots this year. my mom has never taken a flu shot, she is just a strong believer in not taking it. she knows that i think this is a stupid attidute, but i also respect her right to say no to the shot.

after about a month of trying to bully people into taking thier flu shots with saying that people won't get their pay check, etc. after a couple of calls to the labor board that got fixed pretty fast.

so here is their new tactict: call people into their office, physically hold them down, and give them the shot.

of course my mom is terrified. my advice to her was this: as soon as one of the administrators touches her to try to hold her down i told her to call 911. i told her to be sure to let them know that if they try to physically force her to take the flu shot. if they as much as touch her to try to hold her down to take that damn thing she will call 911 and press assault and battery charges against them. i told her to let them know that they have 3 options:

a: leave me alone, i'll sign a paper that you offered it and i declined.

b: fire me and we will take the legal route for wrongfull termination.

c: touch me, give me the shot and i will call 911 and press charges.

d: go ahead. you will not only be charged with assault and battery, but you will also be hearing from my lawyer.

so fire away and give me your opinion. what can she do?

perfect!!!!!!! dang that's so annoying that they would even dare to try that.:down:
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Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..

by the way, if they're threatening you like that, then it makes me wonder how well the residents are cared for.:angryfire

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

I find it a little hard to believe that they are actually holding physically forcing the shot on people. Are you sure this isn't an exaggeration? If they went in and allowed the shot to be gien then they are not being forced.

No disrespect intended, but I find this really hard to believe.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, retirement, home care..

You know what though.. working with the elderly in a nursing home, you should have a flu shot regardless if it is mandatory or not!

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.

Lawyers require fees up front, and the Court appointed ones don't. I'm concerned about the working conditions on other fronts at this hell hole, and think "fair employment" agencies need to be brought in. They employ lawyers.

Boy, the owner/administrator of that facility didn't realize that the wrath of the world's Nurses would be brought down by this ignorant decision, which deserves nothing less than this. Print thgese messages, and take them to the lawyer, for use at a trial against

employee abuse!

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What about all the contraindication to giving a flu shot? They are disregarding some basic safe practices. I have never heard of such a thing. I would go straight to the DA's office and bypass the police station. I'm sure they would look into it immediately. All those that have been held down already have law suits that would win in any court of law. Keep us up to date on this and let us know how it turns out. If they are willing to do this to their staff, what are they doing to the nursing home patients????:uhoh21:

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Specializes in Military, Public Health, Surg, Oncology.

First let me say that if anyone ever held me down and gave me a shot their head would be spinning from the speed at which I would file assault charges. What they are doing is wrong, illegal and reprehensible. Whoever came up with that idea should be fired on the spot.

However, as a nurse who has more years in the profession that I'd like to admit publicly, and who understands the impact the flu can have on older patients or patients who are disabled ,I would really have to think hard about whether I would be doing the best thing for my patients to refuse the shot and possibly be the person that could have contributed to an unnecessary complication for one of my patients. We all take a variety of precautions to ensure that our patients receive safe care. PPDs, staph screening, and immunizations are just part of the job. Without them you don't work on the unit. Who wants to come in for care and then end up with a staph infection? Who, out of our community of nurses, would care to put a patient in danger? I think we are agree that what they are doing is so wrong that it defies explanation but what is the right thing for us to do to protect our patients?

My parents are in their 80s and live with me. Each year I get the shot, my partner gets it, and my parents get it. If my partner or I got the flu we would shrug it of after a couple of miserable days but not so for my parents. I travel a lot so the chance that I will pick it up and bring it home is multiplied.

In a relatively small community, such as a nursing home, the chances that something like this could take hold and cause catastrophic consequences is something that executive management must consider. They could be held liable in a wrongful death lawsuit if a family were able to point out that the nurses, aids or therapists were not properly immunized to protect the patients.

It is your decision to take shot or not but it is also your responsibility to make sure the patient is safe and well cared for while in your care. I would expect that a nurse working in the OR, ER CCU ICU or any of the step-down units (or basically anywhere in the hospital) wouldn't come into work high or inebriated knowing that they could possible make a big mistake and cause harm to a patient. We all must be licensed to make sure we have basic proficiencies to provide safe care to patients. How is this different?

You can refuse a PPD, a staph screening or even immunizations. But if that is part of the job -- then your choice may mean that you find other employment. I respect their right to refuse. But I also think, that if you refuse, that you need to find another job that doesn't require that you compromise your values. Your rights are not any more important, or less important than those of the patient.

Forcing people to take shots and holding them down is the wrong way to go, but the core issue for me is whether taking the shot will allow me to provide a safer environment for my patients.

I worked as a nurse in the military and was posted to a lot of duty stations that required that have immunizations against the local bugs. I didn't really want them but I didn't have a choice. In the military you don't get to pick what you want to do. If it was that way I wouldn't have picked some of the duty stations I got. When I complained about getting a small pox immunization, again, the MD running the clinic asked me what good I would be to patients if I was sick or before I knew I was sick was passing it around to my patients. He made a good point but I still didn't like the immunizations.

To me the question is what I can do to make sure I can do the best job possible for my patient. That would be first in my mind, but if I was ever forced into doing something that I did not want to do and it was done to me without my consent then you'd want to move out of the way 'cause what would happen would not be pretty.

T

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