Help! Need advice on college healthcare school immunization requirements

[throwawayota]

Hey allnurses, I know this may.not be the best place to ask, but I did not know where else to go.

My girlfriend is enrolled in an occupational therapy assistant program. Like most nursing programs, this requires her to get titers drawn and show immunity before beginning clinicals. She tested negative for measles immunity 8 weeks ago, received her booster and was told to get it rechecked in 6-8 weeks.

Unfortunately, she found out she is still not immune to measles. She is due to start her clinical next week, but she says they require a positive result before starting. Is there anyway around this? I was thinking she may be able to get the vaccine and show proof that she got that again, but i dont think they will let her start without a positive titer.

I am just concerned they wont let her start her program, shell be forced to drop, and have to wait a year before starting again.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

She needs to consult with her physician or even the local health department. Not every person converts to positive titers. Consult with the school nurse

[Dogen]

She should also check with someone in her OT program. I doubt she's the first person who's ever experienced this, and they probably have a policy.

My nursing program required immunizations, but I was old enough to not have gotten the Hep B vaccines as a kid. It takes six months to finish, so I emailed the admissions people and they said it was fine. Bonus, I got the third shot for free because by then I was five months into my program and had access to student health. A titer also showed I didn't have immunity to German measles (aka rubella), but since I had immunity to "regular" measles (rubeola) and mumps they didn't care.

[AdobeRN]

Another option would be to check to see if your state offers any kind of Exemption and see if the school will accept that documentation - What do they do if you can not get the vaccine, religious reasons etc??? Here in Texas we can request an "Exemption Affidavit for REasons of Conscious" sign it, notarize it and it is accepted at schools including colleges.

I have never had a positive Titer with the Hep B - even after receiving the series 3 times - after the 3rd time my last place of employment actually gave me formal letter stating that I had the series but my titers dont show it and according to Health dept it is not recommended to keep getting the series.