Immunizations & nursing school

[determined09]

Hello All,

I need some advice on the approach I should take regarding a controversial topic. I am currently in the process of applying to nursing school & have never received immunizations because of personal reasons. I recently emailed my advisor about the issue and asked to receive declination forms to sign. She stated that nursing students are required to have current and updated immunizations and that hospitals have the right to deny me clinical rotation in their facility. My concern is that this cannot possibly be correct. Entering a hospital with no immunization history is my own personal risk. If I get sick, that is my problem. Also, there has to be a doctor or nurse in the entire country who has refused immunizations. Why did the college of nursing not contact me when I entered the university & listed my major as nursing? I am pretty devastated to say the least & am scared that I may have to withdraw my application or this issue with put a "red x" by my name. Does anyone have any feedback on this issue?

[RNCEN]

As an aside, our hospital will NOT hire you if you test positive for nicotine beginning this July. They will also ask employees to leave if they refuse vaccinations, unless they have religious reasons and documentation. It is perfectly legal.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

"Does anyone have any feedback on this issue? "

I think our feedback is pretty universal: another career will be a better choice for you as long as you prefer to avoid immunizations.

The silver lining to this cloud is that you found out before you had expended time, energy and $$ in a career that you cannot achieve. You should be thankful that the school let you know this up front.

[demylenated, BSN, RN]

There is no option in this field.

Reason is this (for instance). Meningitis has an incubation period of up to 10 days. You come into contact with A LOT of sick people in 10 days... and healthy people who are going to come into contact with MORE SICK people. It doesn't just affect you. It is dangerous for the population we work in.

You have to figure out which is more important to you.

And, just wondering why you think the college should have contacted you? In every website I've visited it clearly says Vaccinations are required a long with a host of other things. You are responsible for looking into everything that entails your future.

Good thing is most pre-reqs for nursing (save the micro and A&P unless you are going into sciene) are universal for other degrees, and the others (aforementioned) can be you "electives." So, don't look at the classes as wasted... Tough decision for you, or perhaps not, depending on how into the vaccine thing you are (that is EASILY fixed for nursing school by getting them), if not, I'm sure you feel a tad lost with your future, since this was your goal... Evaluate ALLLL options. Research EVERYTHING and make the right decision for YOU! Only YOU can.

Good luck.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Not only you must have immunizations, but also your school may require particular vaccines only to be used and within particular time frames. In my class we must have flu shot - not spray - for some semesters because we're going to be in close contact with patients in deep immunodeficiency for whom a live virus in nasal spray can be deadly dangerous for up to 4 weeks after vaccination. Same story about all live vaccines including MMR, and all patients who might be immunodeficient, pregnant patients, etc.

I had a reaction after a flu shot a couple of years ago, but was told that not having it isn't an option unless I want to miss a good learning opportunity. Will probably have to take it in ER and under steroids, just in case.

[rumwynnieRN]

I think the previous replies are sufficient. The whole point of universal precautions and vaccines is to prevent the spread of disease. No, these measures do not eradicate diseases, but they greatly reduce their spread.

I hope you don't see any of these replies as a personal attack. As you have mentioned, you see any illness you receive as exclusively your problem, but in this field, we're not allowed to be that selfish. Should you spread hep B, tetorifice, diphtheria, the flu or chickenpox to an already immunocompromised patient, the school will be given a lot of grief from the hospital, the patient's family, JCAHO and whoever else if discovered you chose to not be immunized because these diseases were preventable via vaccine. There is a lot at stake here, and some of the institutions near me will "comp" a patient's hospital stay if they develop any diseases, issues or conditions that could have been prevented.

I hope you reach a decision with this issue that you are happy with.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I have always thought that this issue is a great illustration of the beauty of living in the US. Yes, we have great personal freedoms (likely more than most any other country) but we still do owe a debt to the country at large and must abide by some basic rules, for the good of all. Some generations may either have forgotten that concept or were never exposed to it.

This is a concrete example of American citizens' abilities to claim personal freedom to do (or not do) as they please. However, all choices come with consequences, as OP is surely now discovering. Exercising one's personal freedoms cannot/should not come at a price to others.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

Yes, not being vaccinated doesn't just endanger yourself, it is a danger to your patients. Think about if you are doing your maternity rotation, and you are starting to come down with something dangerous for pregnant women and the newborns. You could be contagious before you feel sick or know what it is. I don't know of any hospitals anywhere near me that would let you do clinicals, much less get a job without showing proof of vaccinations, as well as certain titers (such as vericella-zoster and hep B).

And I'm certain this will go for any healthcare field, not just nursing.

As my due date looms in mere weeks this makes me think of the risks to my baby Emma from whooping cough.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

If you don't have immunizations, it doesn't just put you at risk- it puts your patients at risk. The newborn babies and infants in your pediatric rotations that are too young to receive immunizations, the immunocompromised oncology patients, the community health patients who haven't been able to afford immunizations, the list goes on.

The school may make an exception for some immunizations- such as the influenza vaccine, but others are not negotiable. This will present a problem after school as well. You will be hard pressed to find a hospital or nursing facility that does not require up to date immunizations.

I suggest examining your reasons for not being immunized. Are you concerned about side effects? Were you raised that way? Do you have a medical reason? Do the research about vaccines yourself and come to your own conclusion about them. Then decide whether you can compromise that moral in order to have a career as a nurse. If you can't, you should probably examine other career paths.

[HippieGypsyGirl]

One thing I've learned in NS is that it's not about you, It's about the patient. As harsh as it may sound...it is true.

[GM2RN]

I absolutely, unequivocally, DISAGREE with almost everything already stated. The posts that come before mine represent only one view of this topic. I won't elaborate more than that here since there are many threads that already hash out the pros and cons, and you can read those if you like.

The one thing that I do agree with, is that you probably won't find a nursing program that will allow you to attend clinicals without at least some vaccinations. However, there ARE hospitals that will hire you without them. Mine is one of them. I also refuse the flu vaccine every year and it has never been an issue where I work.

[dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I]

Us geezer-nurses born before 1958 were exempted from the immunizations because in those years we got immunity by getting the illness. They can draw blood for titers to confim immunity, and some places I worked insisted on that, always showing I had full immunity.

You might ask your MD to draw the levels and who knows, you might show some immunities, but this is the Hail Mary approach. It's so good of you to want to be a nurse, I'm sure you can understand that you don't want to endanger your patients and co-workers by working during the prodromal phase (infectious but not yet symptomatic) of flu, hepatitis, chicken pox, measles, mumps, a common cold, etc, etc!

In any case, kudos for the desire to help.

[JSlovex2]

there are lots of things you'll have to do in nursing school that you won't like and won't understand. this is the first of many. do you have to get vaccinated? no. do you have to be a nurse? no. it's really your choice. i didn't understand the rationale when i was learning to draw blood that "if you can't be stuck then you shouldn't be sticking people" which is what my instructor said. i thought, "hmm. does that mean if i'm not willing to have surgery that i shouldn't help perform it?" we had to do procedures on each other wearing gowns, have blood pressures checked, be weighed, etc. i wasn't thrilled about any of the above (especially being in school with hot girls after i'd given birth and had the body to show for it) but it comes with the territory. i didn't have to let the whole class know my weight and know i had a wart, but i didn't have to be a nurse either. it's a crappy part of life.