I Really Do Not Want the COVID Vaccine ?

[AspiringNurse94]

(So glad I stumbled across this website again after almost 6 years! I need to change my username because I am not an aspiring nurse anymore, I have been a nurse for almost 3 years! ?)

Anyway, I really do not want to take this new covid vaccine. I know I can’t be the only one who feels this way. Typically I am not an anti-vaxxer but something about this illness is making me think otherwise. For personal reasons I really do not want to take it when available at my hospital, but I’m afraid it will be mandatory. I am almost considering finding a new job if my hospital forces us all to take it. What a shame because I do like my job and wouldn’t know what else to turn to that isn’t nursing, because chances are most healthcare related places of employment will likely require all employees take it.

I want to use the excuse of it being against my religion but I already took the flu vaccine this year. I have nothing against the flu vaccine but didn’t necessarily want it, but my hospital practically FORCED everyone to take it unless they grant you an exemption. I’m afraid they’ll question me why I took the flu shot but cannot take the covid vaccine. 

What do you guys think about this? Will you be taking the vaccine? I just want us to be able to make our own decisions about this. If patients can refuse medications, procedures, and treatments, why can’t healthcare workers do the same? I read in multiple articles it will not be required by the federal government but each state and employer can decide whether or not it will be mandatory.

And forget the $1500 “stimulus check” that may be offered if you take it. All the money in the world would not change my mind about taking the vaccine. I feel as though if you have to bribe people to take it, something is peculiar.

I don’t know why this is bothering me so much. It should be a choice in my opinion. But by telling a few friends about not wanting it I feel judged. I have worked with covid patients multiple times since I am one of the younger nurses who does not have any kids/am pregnant. I feel like week after week I was always chosen to go to the covid section. At first I was mad but now it doesn’t bother me. I am not afraid to be near covid patients. Luckily through all this time I haven’t caught it. I always tell people I’d rather catch it than get this vaccine. That’s how strongly I feel against taking the vaccine. All of my non-nursing who have had covid are covered and thriving. To me catching it isn’t the biggest deal but others have called me selfish because I could be spreading it to others. Why is it looked at as selfish for not wanting to inject something into MY body. #mybodymychoice

Am I thinking about this too much? What would you do?

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

Still trying to figure out some of the conventions here. When I tried to quote it, it showed on my screen as Aries.. Go figure. Thanks.

[TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN]

15 hours ago, Aries22 said:

@ohbejoyful

I understand your point. Thank you for your post.  Alot of those who responded negatively and condescendingly, more than likely began their careers at the lowest level of nursing, CNAs, then became LPNs , deploma RNs , where a majority stopped and others continued their education through a bridge program. Of course there are a few who probably started at the community college level and worked their way up.  I started at the community college but got into a bad accident, yadayada. So I decided to go a quicker route so that I would make it to DNP in approximately 3 yrs. The means doesn't matter, it's the end result.  There was someone who gave a long scientific article that they found.  It included mRNA. which is the messenger RNA and that is dealing with DNA. I don't want to put anything into my body that's going to change, in my opinion, my DNA.  You have every right to be skeptical.  That shows that you are an independent thinker and not a sheeple (follower).  As for the condescension, that is just their own insecurities.  No matter what level they are in nursing, it doesn't matter to me.  I'm still holding to my opinions.  You know what they say about opinions. But really, these comments I find amusing.  I view them as being very neurotical and hysterical personalities.  One woman who responded to my comment had a reading comprehension problem.  She accused me of calling her a communist.  My comment clearly stated that as far as I knew this country was not communist yet, and the first amendment still stands.  They still keep coming. I've actually shared some of these responses with others in the profession, and they laughed their derrieres off.  They told me that I should stop too, BUT they make it so much fun, I said. LMAO

So, with bolded phrase I'm not really sure where you were going with this statement because you sort meandered back to talking about yourself and then on to the mRNA vaccine. The way it comes across is that you have some sort of conflict with those of us started our at the bottom of the ladder. There is nothing wrong with that, if anything I believe working at all levels of nursing practice provides for unique insights that people on other career paths may not have. I started as a hospital volunteer at the age 15, my "job" was to do whatever I was told which included cleaning, helping discharge patient, gophering, whatever was required at the time, and I loved it, I thought it was the coolest thing. So, I decided to take the CNA class at the vocational school at my high school and started working as a CNA in an LTC facility at the age 16, became LPN at the age of 18, and finally at age 25 became an RN. I came from nothing so it wasn't easy, there was very minimal support but I got through it. I don't have the degrees you have, nor the education that you do. And everyone's educational path is unique and as you said the end result is the same. But please do not get a negative impression from those of us who have worked up the ladder, because we have experience and seen a lot and that type of knowledge is not taught in school. Don't get caught up in the alphabet soup of nursing. Be well. 

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

16 hours ago, Aries22 said:

 

 So I decided to go a quicker route so that I would make it to DNP in approximately 3 yrs. 

I'm intrigued. Where can one go from LPN to DPN in approximately 3 years?

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

1 hour ago, lifelearningrn said:

I'm intrigued. Where can one go from LPN to DPN in approximately 3 years?

In your dreams. Consider the pathways:

LPN to enter ADN program, finish prerequisites, one year (min), two years nursing program. That’s three years right there, regardless of prior degrees if science and other courses are more than 5 yrs old.

or

LPN to enter BSN program, might get credit for clinical 101, but depending on structure of program, 3-4 years. Assuming you can get accepted, competition is fierce.

then

Assuming skipping MSN, reputable (oooh, trigger word! Standing by it though) program unlikely to accept without evidence of work experience at at least BSN level, so a couple of years there AND then the program.

All this assumes these are not online proprietary courses with sketchy faculty whose “degrees” also came from proprietary programs... look them up, some scary stuff out there. I did a case against a “PhD” nurse whose bachelors and masters were from for-profit schools and whose “doctorate” was 9 months in a for-profit program (later closed for fraud) based on a ludicrous “research” project that was a Survey Monkey poll. Still claims it on the CV though.
 

 I find these things an embarrassment to the profession. Go ahead and call me a snob. Flameproofies on. 

 

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

4 minutes ago, Hannahbanana said:

 I find these things an embarrassment to the profession. Go ahead and call me a snob. Flameproofies on. 

 

I agree with you wholeheartedly. 

[londonflo]

51 minutes ago, Hannahbanana said:

“doctorate” was 9 months in a for-profit program (later closed for fraud) based on a ludicrous “research” project that was a Survey Monkey poll.

Having sat through 'presentations' of research from a newly-minted doctoral nurse I can agree. Our profession's wish to get a seat at the academia table through whatever mechanism possible scares me.

[toomuchbaloney]

1 hour ago, Hannahbanana said:

In your dreams. Consider the pathways:

LPN to enter ADN program, finish prerequisites, one year (min), two years nursing program. That’s three years right there, regardless of prior degrees if science and other courses are more than 5 yrs old.

or

LPN to enter BSN program, might get credit for clinical 101, but depending on structure of program, 3-4 years. Assuming you can get accepted, competition is fierce.

then

Assuming skipping MSN, reputable (oooh, trigger word! Standing by it though) program unlikely to accept without evidence of work experience at at least BSN level, so a couple of years there AND then the program.

All this assumes these are not online proprietary courses with sketchy faculty whose “degrees” also came from proprietary programs... look them up, some scary stuff out there. I did a case against a “PhD” nurse whose bachelors and masters were from for-profit schools and whose “doctorate” was 9 months in a for-profit program (later closed for fraud) based on a ludicrous “research” project that was a Survey Monkey poll. Still claims it on the CV though.
 

 I find these things an embarrassment to the profession. Go ahead and call me a snob. Flameproofies on. 

 

It's especially likely to take longer if the BS degrees are so remote from present practice that basic review of biology will be necessary.  There have been a couple of similar posts from different accounts claiming degrees while simultaneously struggling with some relatively basic science or scientific principles. 

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

You can go to my grad school university library and see my MN thesis was more complicated and in depth than doctoral dissertations of ten years before, because the state of the art and nursing scholarship had advanced that much in that decade. Nowadays, I expect it to have been superseded by a good senior capstone paper -- technology is better, research is easier (I had to type the whole thing and my stats were derived from hand-punched cards run thru a reader, LOL).

But somehow, things seem to be getting diluted in the decade-long rush to get everybody degreed. So I'm a COB and biter, but jeez. If some of the quality of science education I see evidenced here is the result, I'm not impressed.

While I know anecdote is not the singular of data, I beg you: Prove me wrong.

[TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN]

12 hours ago, Hannahbanana said:

You can go to my grad school university library and see my MN thesis was more complicated and in depth than doctoral dissertations of ten years before, because the state of the art and nursing scholarship had advanced that much in that decade. Nowadays, I expect it to have been superseded by a good senior capstone paper -- technology is better, research is easier (I had to type the whole thing and my stats were derived from hand-punched cards run thru a reader, LOL).

But somehow, things seem to be getting diluted in the decade-long rush to get everybody degreed. So I'm a COB and biter, but jeez. If some of the quality of science education I see evidenced here is the result, I'm not impressed.

While I know anecdote is not the singular of data, I beg you: Prove me wrong.

You're so right, nursing wanted to be a "profession" and sneered at being regarded as a "trade", yet I think we were in better shape as an occupation when 3 year diploma programs were the standard for nursing. Just my personal opinion. But I've been told before (not on here) that because of my lack of a 4 year education that I live in a and I quote "myopic world", so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

[londonflo]

19 hours ago, Hannahbanana said:

Nowadays, I expect it to have been superseded by a good senior capstone paper -- technology is better, research is easier (I had to type the whole thing and my stats were derived from hand-punched cards run thru a reader, LOL).

We had to look up articles and retrieve them, copy them on the xerox etc. Finding a good bib was like gold. Maybe it was the culture I was in but I don't think anyone in my group in graduate school was working full time. Now on AN I keep seeing requests for advice on where can I go for an MSN,  DNP and still work full time.

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

I think the answer lies in your commitment. Do you want to spend the time and intellectual effort necessary to increase knowledge beneficial to your profession, or is this just a checkbox on the form? Do you really want to practice nursing at a higher level, or just get a better job? Getting a better job isn’t a bad thing, of course. We all aspire to that at some point, and we prepare for it by seeking our experiences, certifications, or whatever. These are not the same things. 

I saved money for three years so I could take the time off to go to grad school at a brick-and-mortar school in a program that required a bona fide research project supervised by people with national reputations in their fields (one physiology, two nursing). 

Who cares? Well, more and more, prospective employers are tumbling to the idea of looking to see what they’re getting. Somebody who took the easiest way just to get the credential? The people who say, “An online BSN is just a few courses, it’s all BS but I had to do it to keep my job,” or, “I really wanted to stretch myself to be a better professional and be able to teach/influence practice”? They are starting to know the difference. 
 

People will do what they have to do, but I wish they’d look at their motivations in a less self-centered way. Be honest c yourself. An earned degree worth its salt can’t be done like a self-study CEU out of a magazine. Part of it is the opportunity to work with other likeminded people and experts. It’s supposed to be a choice to make a big step, not a necessary inconvenience forced by circumstances you don’t care so much about.

MN or DNP while working full time, my grandmother’s sweet patootie. 

Off soapbox.

[myoglobin, ASN, BSN, MSN]

1 minute ago, Hannahbanana said:

I think the answer lies in your commitment. Do you want to spend the time and intellectual effort necessary to increase knowledge beneficial to your profession, or is this just a checkbox on the form? Do you really want to practice nursing at a higher level, or just get a better job? Getting a better job isn’t a bad thing, of course. We all aspire to that at some point, and we prepare for it by seeking our experiences, certifications, or whatever. These are not the same things. 

I saved money for three years so I could take the time off to go to grad school at a brick-and-mortar school in a program that required a bona fide research project supervised by people with national reputations in their fields (one physiology, two nursing). 

Who cares? Well, more and more, prospective employers are tumbling to the idea of looking to see what they’re getting. Somebody who took the easiest way just to get the credential? The people who say, “An online BSN is just a few courses, it’s all BS but I had to do it to keep my job,” or, “I really wanted to stretch myself to be a better professional and be able to teach/influence practice”? They are starting to know the difference. 
 

People will do what they have to do, but I wish they’d look at their motivations in a less self-centered way. Be honest c yourself. An earned degree worth its salt can’t be done like a self-study CEU out of a magazine. Part of it is the opportunity to work with other likeminded people and experts. It’s supposed to be a choice to make a big step, not a necessary inconvenience forced by circumstances you don’t care so much about.

MN or DNP while working full time, my grandmother’s sweet patootie. 

Off soapbox.

Self interest will always be a primary motivating factor in a free society. While my degree is only a Master's it was earned mainly online (except for clinical) and it took me from a 60K non benefitted ICU job to the one I currently have earning between 25 and 30K per month (working online). I am grateful for the opportunity to have been able to further my education while working full time (except for the last two semesters then part time). This would have not been possible with traditional modalities.