Today, there is an article posted on how 22,000 nurses are taking a stand against mandatory vaccination. These nurses are willing to lose their jobs to stand up for their Pro-choice rights. I have included the link below so you can read the article for yourself. Learn more about NAMV (Nurses Against Mandatory Vaccines)
NAMV was founded when mandatory vaccines were introduced in the workplace, and though it is not pro-vaccine OR anti-vaccine, it is certainly pro-CHOICE. NAMV members believe that all people should have the right to choose and refuse medical treatment, including nurses and healthcare workers.
Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.
While I question the efficacy of this year's flu vaccine (especially after it laid me up in bed for 3 days with reaction symptoms), I'm also a scientist and understand how difficult it is to prepare a vaccine based on a rapidly mutating virus. From a virology perspective, that little sucker is a beauty of nature.
That being said, r/t getting vaccinations, I've put far dumber things into my body (alcohol and processed foods, for starters), and have accepted I have to get the vaccine in order to work in a hospital in any size in the area. I also do it for my immunosuppressed, transplant patients.
Side note, I am also very irritated by the anti-vax movement's co-opting of the term 'pro-choice' from the reproductive rights movement. Confusing at best.
Mine does. Other places I've worked do, too. I don't need a preservative free one but sometimes people will say hey, I need preservative free and then employee health can get it for them. Not a big deal from what I've seen.
Something else I thought about on this thread. I don't like anti-bacterial hand soaps, never have them in my home and avoid them like the plague, no pun intended! Evidence suggests that effective handwashing with plain soap and water for 20 seconds and rinsing well is enough. No need to layer on the germicides too!
But my hospital, and everywhere else I've worked, uses this stuff. I once brought in non-anti-bacterial pump soap to keep at the nurse's station for our use and was told JCAHO didn't allow it. Oh well.
If I want to work where I work, or anywhere that they have that nasty soap, I have to use it or not work there! My employer dictates this. I can choose to stay or resign. I choose to stay
I don't have a documented medical condition for not using that kind of soap, and even if I did I wonder how it would be handled. But what I am saying is that my employer makes the rules, and I choose to follow them and keep getting a paycheck. I have the choice to leave and not get one, too!
Way back on page 6 I brought to light the real reason your employer is requiring you to get a flu shot. It has nothing to do preventing the flu but it has everything to do with financial penalties. This is government imposed by CMS on healthcare facilities. See for yourself here The page cannot be found
"Beginning January 2014, CMS will impose financial penalties on facilities that have not achieved a90% vaccination rate among their healthcare workers. In addition, CMS has announced thathospital-acquired infections – including nosocomial influenza – will no longer be reimbursed"
If you work at a facility that takes medicare or medicade chances are you have a manditory flu policy because of these regulations. When this went on the board a lot of facilities who have high CMS reimbursments for care got on the bandwagon and prepared for the years it was to go live (Jan 2014 to be exact). Have you ever had anyone at your facility say to you hey get this shot because the hospital needs more money? Of course not, they pull the curtain over your eyes and tell you its for your patients (you're a nurse after all), its not, it never has been. I'm told we continually get flyers each year for the United Way because nurses are more succeptable to give than other demographics...
Profit margins for health entities are small, they rely on private insurers to make up the difference from what CMS reimburses. My last understanding was Medicare was 85 cents on the dollar and medicade was 60-65 cents on the dollar. Private insurance might pay 115-130% of what the procedure costs. My facility has 65% CMS reimbursement and those numbers are from what we receive on those patients. Bundled payments just started and now its opening up a whole new box of worms. This is why you're going to start seeing total joints being done same day.
Bottom line. The flu policies were dictated by your facility or risk the potential for financial penalty. Basically money > you. Of course they set the rules like many have mentioned but its hard when CMS tightens the noose.
Way back on page 6 I brought to light the real reason your employer is requiring you to get a flu shot. It has nothing to do preventing the flu but it has everything to do with financial penalties. This is government imposed by CMS on healthcare facilities. See for yourself here The page cannot be found
"Beginning January 2014, CMS will impose financial penalties on facilities that have not achieved a90% vaccination rate among their healthcare workers. In addition, CMS has announced thathospital-acquired infections – including nosocomial influenza – will no longer be reimbursed"
But isn't this regulation put into place because facilities that insist on flu vaccination have lower rates of influenza than facilities that don't? The policy may very well be yanking on the purse strings, but sometimes that's the only way to get someone to do something that is required. Put a penalty into place. Without consequence or penalty, much harder to enforce.
Much like telling a child if he doesn't clean up his room by 3pm, he's going to be in trouble. Time comes, room is a mess, parent says I warned you, you're going to be in trouble. Clean this up. And on and on. No teeth. Tell that kid you're going to donate his allowance or bike to GoodWill (and then do it!) and I bet he complies next time!
But isn't this regulation put into place because facilities that insist on flu vaccination have lower rates of influenza than facilities that don't? The policy may very well be yanking on the purse strings, but sometimes that's the only way to get someone to do something that is required. Put a penalty into place. Without consequence or penalty, much harder to enforce.
Much like telling a child if he doesn't clean up his room by 3pm, he's going to be in trouble. Time comes, room is a mess, parent says I warned you, you're going to be in trouble. Clean this up. And on and on. No teeth. Tell that kid you're going to donate his allowance or bike to GoodWill (and then do it!) and I bet he complies next time!
This is not the case. If this were the case, you would find an OVERWHELMING amount of studies done that prove without a a doubt that clarify this. The litterature is murky, some studies are for and some against. I'm not a person who likes to gamble on shaky evidence, especially when its out of my hands. Everyone is too naive, dont ever think its a companies best interest to put you before profits. Enron, Madoff, Pfiser (via Vioxx, yeah look that one up). Your hospital wants you vaccinated because it earns them more money if you do, bottom line. There is no debate here.
Of the nursing jobs I've had, only 1 actually provided free employee flu shots. Two others probably did, though I wasn't there long enough to find out. The rest encouraged flu vaccinations, but did not provide them. Two vaccine providers and an ALF *charged employees* for flight shots.
could not agree more. I am also rather surprised by the angry tone some of this posts have taken. Nice example of once again, nurses tearing down each with baseless remarks. I am educated, I don't know who Jenny Mccarthy is (referencing an earlier comment) and as a free adult, I should be able to make decisions regarding what goes into my body. I have never had the flu but sure have taken care of plenty who had the flu and got the flu shot
Specializes in Palliative, Onc, Med-Surg, Home Hospice.
******* ****, is this a real thing?! I went to nursing school outside the US and imho that is disturbing! they obviously confused nurses with nuns.
I didn't say it and I would have refused. I don't pledge myself before God. (My Goddess, maybe) However, it is the Nightingale Pledge. Some nurses schools do have grads recite it. My nephews wife recited it at her graduation, and she went to a public university.
I had tunafish for lunch earlier this week and, then, when I got home after work, I tripped and fell down my back porch steps. I won't be eating tunafish from now on because it causes falls.
Wrench Party
823 Posts
While I question the efficacy of this year's flu vaccine (especially after it laid me up in bed for 3 days with reaction symptoms), I'm also a scientist and understand how difficult it is to prepare a vaccine based on a rapidly mutating virus. From a virology perspective, that little sucker is a beauty of nature.
That being said, r/t getting vaccinations, I've put far dumber things into my body (alcohol and processed foods, for starters), and have accepted I have to get the vaccine in order to work in a hospital in any size in the area. I also do it for my immunosuppressed, transplant patients.
Side note, I am also very irritated by the anti-vax movement's co-opting of the term 'pro-choice' from the reproductive rights movement. Confusing at best.