Immunization Records?

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Specializes in Cardiac Stepdown, PCU.

So I have completed the TEAS (82.7!) and all components of my application have been turned in. I've scored 5 of the "up to 6 points" that can be earned for acceptance so I am fairly confident and hoping or good news come april/june when acceptance letters go out. So much so that I want to prepare and make sure I have all the documents for full acceptance into the program ready to go - CPR certification, TB testing, a physical exam... etc. I am guessing this is usual stuff. I have just one problem...

I have, absolutely no idea if I have a record, where they might be if I have one and no way of finding out otherwise. So now what? I have starting communication with the program director on this matter. But I have yet to hear anything, and I thought I'd ask for opinion or see if anyone else has had the same issue. Before anyone asks, no I cannot ask a family member. The only living family members I have are my uncle and my younger brother. My uncle lived halfway across state from me, and my brother knows less than I do.

Does anyone know what I might need to do? Will I need to make a DR appointment and start on receiving immunizations if I can't find records of them?

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I would make an appointment without delay and discuss this with the physician.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

Agreed, get to the doctor. For some, they can do a blood test to see if you're already good to go. For others (like TDaP), they may just give it to you. But if you need your hep B series, best to start it NOW.

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Some of them you will either have to have a record or just get the immunization, like for TDaP. Influenza and the TB test have to be done annually, so unless you got them in the last year and have the documentation you will have to get those. The others (MMR, Varicella, Hep B) your doctor can do a titer test to see if you are immune or not. If not, you will have to get the immunization. Since you will have to get a physical anyways you may as well just talk to your doctor about the immunizations at the same time. You will want to do it ASAP, because if you need your Hep B series it will take you at least 7 months to get all three shots (the 2nd shot is given 1 month after the first, and the 3rd is given 6 months after that).

Also, as far as your vaccination record goes, if you have had your records transferred any time you have switched doctors, your doctor's office my have some or even all of your immunization history in your record.

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Some of them you will either have to have a record or just get the immunization, like for TDaP. Influenza and the TB test have to be done annually, so unless you got them in the last year and have the documentation you will have to get those. The others (MMR, Varicella, Hep B) your doctor can do a titer test to see if you are immune or not. If not, you will have to get the immunization. Since you will have to get a physical anyways you may as well just talk to your doctor about the immunizations at the same time. You will want to do it ASAP, because if you need your Hep B series it will take you at least 7 months to get all three shots (the 2nd shot is given 1 month after the first, and the 3rd is given 6 months after that).

Also, as far as your vaccination record goes, if you have had your records transferred any time you have switched doctors, your doctor's office my have some or even all of your immunization history in your record.

So true I had my physical today. Because I had no clue of my childhood immunization my doctor did the tither. Results take about 7 days. I'm sure I had them all just don't have the records. Good luck.

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Specializes in NICU.

Go to your family doctor (or urgent care clinic) and tell them that you need vaccination records for school and don't have them. Tell them which vaccinations are needed for school. They can write a prescription to take to the medical lab and draw blood. The lab will run titers for each of those vaccines to determine if your body has those antibodies in sufficient strength to protect you. Take those results to your family doctor and they will fill out your immunizations form or make copies for the school (ask the school which they prefer doctors form or results). This is what I had to do and the school was perfectly fine with it (lab results showed I had the shots and still protected).

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I did the same. You can get the titers and I would say you need the tdap and hep b as most people don't have those. At least to start. The hep b takes a long time. My college had the college vaccination form plus the nursing college form...2 separate ones. I searched the web and both came up. I would see if you can find them and take them to the dr with you. I also did a search for bls classes and figured I would do that as well in the next few weeks. There are plenty in my area but a wide range in cost. It is smart to get it all done asap. I had to redo my rubella after my titer. I'm going to recheck the chicken pox.

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Our school gave us the option of showing records or titers. Many students found titers weren't covered by insurance and fairly expensive, so just chose to be vaccinated again.

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If you live where you went to high school you can get a copy of your immunization record from them as they keep it indefinately. And then go from there to obtain whichever immunizations you are needing still. Like others said titers can be pricey and if your levels aren't high enough you will need to get the immunizations also.

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Specializes in Emergency.

All they need to do is check your titers in all of the vaccinations. If they're positive, you're good and your doctor will write out an OK on the evaluation sheet. If you're not positive on the titers, you will need to restart the vaccinations. No worries though, as your school will accept the vaccinations as LONG as you have begun them. Don't wait til school starts to find this out, lol.

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I just ran into the same issue because I'm required to take a cna class and needed immunizations to do clinicals. I also had no idea. Check with your high school (but mine tosses them after 5 years, so that was a no go for me).

Make an appointment with student health services- sometimes they can access your records. I currently live in MN and they were able to look up all vaccinations I've had in MN, and a couple in OR, but not all of them.

Finally I called the hospital in my hometown in OR and they put me in touch with who I needed to talk to to get the rest. I did try doing a release form through school to get the info but unsurprisingly my home hospital dragged their feet so I called myself. It was pretty painless. It turned out I was current on everything, except I needed a Mantoux test and Varicella. TBH, I might just say I got chicken pox as a kid in the meantime.

If I hadn't been able to get those records, I wanted to do a titer but they warned me that insurance often doesn't cover titers and they can be very expensive, so it would cost less and be harmless to redo all my vaccinations. Don't put it off though- some are a series, or one can't be given with another, so you need lots of time to get it all done. I have to do a 2 step mantoux and now might get in trouble from not getting it done on time, because first my school was out of tests, then they will be closed on the Monday that I need part 2, etc. The nurse said I should be fine as long as I've started them but my teachers were less reassuring.

So that's what I went through when I found it less than easy to track them down. Good luck!

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Specializes in Multiple.

I also am from Minnesota. Our state has a central database, accessible online, for any vaccinations given. It's not always up to date, especially if you're over thirty or forty years old. I would look into your state; it's a public record so it shouldn't be hard to get.

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