Hello, I am a 1st year, 1st quarter nursing student. My teacher has assigned the class to write an opinion paper on an ethical/legal issue. My topic was Childhood Vaccines: To Vaccinate or not. Since I am interested in the pediatric field, I was wondering if anyone has had any ethical dilemas to this subject. How did it affect you, or how do you feel this topic can affect the nurse? I have been trying to find some literature online but I am not finding anything from a nurses viewpoint. I know with myself, I belive in vaccinations and if a parent was against it, I know I could not do anything, but try to educate the parent on the importance of the vaccinations. (Children's hospital did this to me when my son was about to get his first set of shots, and I was scared because he had severe heart defects)So I was wondering if and how does this affect the nurse caring for the patient.
meditate 28 Posts Feb 20, 2008 i think that it is important like you stated above to inform the parent of the risks involved by not vaccinating. ultimately, respecting their decision is probably best. i work with alot of autistic children and some parents decline certain immunizations due to the contraversy over autism and imminuzations. until you are in some one else's "shoes", it is difficult to decide. i think your thoughts are definatley on the right path. good luck!
future L&Dnurse 263 Posts Feb 21, 2008 Well, if a nurse has strong opinions about whether or not to vaccinate, it could potentially affect the care she gives to parents who make a different choice. So, nurses need to be able to provide the best possible information in the most unbiased way they can, so parents can make an informed decision for their children, and then the nurse needs to respect that choice whether she agrees with it or not.
