This is a new one

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Insert GIANT eye roll

So I am manually entering all of our Kindergarten students into Power School and I catch a student who still needs DTaP #5, MMR/Varivax #2, IPV #4 and ALL Hep B. She has had all the other vaccines up until the 15 month shots. So I just called the mother to ask if perhaps the records she gave me were incomplete (child had a full physical in March and many times the clinics will not note the vaccines the child was given that same day). She says "Oh, we no longer vaccinate for religious reasons" :banghead: So she has had every other vaccine up until the boosters and suddenly their religious beliefs prevent them from completing the series. Give me an everloving break.

I have found, on several occasions, that mom (or dad) is in a new relationship or marriage, and suddenly their views change to match their partners.

This was my thinking.

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
Oh, indeed. I have a 6th grader who was vaccinated all the way up until dad's 2nd marriage to a tree-hugging, non-vaccinating hippie and now this kid receives absolutely no OTC meds, no gluten, and no vaccines. Where in the heck did this girl's bio mom go because I want to find her and shake her?!?

I have another student who's mom sends a long, judgey letter each year explaining why he shouldn't have a PPD or any vaccines. I'm certain my eyes will either get stuck in the back of my head or my brains will explode out of my skull each time I read it. The Hep-B explanation gets to me the most: "The Hepatitis-B vaccine protects against a disease that is only transmitted through multiple sexual partners or street IV drug users. The acceptance of this vaccine promotes sexual promiscuity and immoral behavior in direct contradiction to the teachings of my faith."

Ohmigawd...don't even get me started. So, since I got the Hep B vaccine, that means I'm gonna ho-bag it up on the corner. Not because I'm at risk caring for people in the most compassionate and selfless of careers that even exists. And while I'm ho'ing it up, I'm probably injecting drugs with dirty needles from all my ho and pimp friends...aargh, I wanna punch this chick in the face every time I see her but she's too busy working on her Master's in PUBLIC HEALTH!!!

Does she think her shiny new MPH will lend credibility to her crap? Or will the cognitive dissonance cause her head to finally explode? Or will she just flunk out because she can't keep the crap out of her term papers?

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
I think we have to respect their beliefs regardless...people can change their beliefs at any stage of their lives, it's one of the things about living in a nation where we have freedom of choice, and those choices are not categorized or judged according to my belief system or anybody else's. There are worse things that cause problems in greater numbers than these non-vaccinators....driving in an alcoholic stupor, violent drug fueled violence, to name only two.

Or vaccine-preventable epidemics that kill large numbers of people. Like when smallpox used to do that, or the flu epidemic of 1918 for starters....

Respecting beliefs is one thing. But when beliefs are based on complete nonsense - it's hard to respect stupidity.

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
No. I am well aware of what the majority of nurses think about non-vaccinators...it has come across in most of these posts and I've heard plenty at work, and I understand it, but I don't have an opinion myself (comment on that if you will although I'm not sure what you will make of my freedom of choice to not have an opinion about everything)...the point was, there are worse things that happen, and who are we to judge?

What's worse than large numbers of people dropping like flies from something that can be easily prevented?

Specializes in kids.
I think we have to respect their beliefs regardless...people can change their beliefs at any stage of their lives, it's one of the things about living in a nation where we have freedom of choice, and those choices are not categorized or judged according to my belief system or anybody else's. There are worse things that cause problems in greater numbers than these non-vaccinators....driving in an alcoholic stupor, violent drug fueled violence, to name only two.

But, in our role as the school nurse, WE are the front line of public health. We are responsible for protecting our kids from being exposed. The rising number of kids who are not vaccinated puts the rest of the population at risk. It will eventually decrease herd immunity. I have had kids with NO immune system, agammaglobulinemia and others with copmpromised immunity related to chemotherapy, Please tell me how their health is not important? Anyone can pick up an illness anywhere. We all know that. But these kids are together for a majority of their day. Bringing in unimmunized children, puts other kids at risk.

Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.
No. I am well aware of what the majority of nurses think about non-vaccinators...it has come across in most of these posts and I've heard plenty at work, and I understand it, but I don't have an opinion myself (comment on that if you will although I'm not sure what you will make of my freedom of choice to not have an opinion about everything)...the point was, there are worse things that happen, and who are we to judge?

I think you are confusing opinion and judgement. I have an opinion about everything at various levels of importance to me - you do too. If that opinion develops into some sort of "action" it becomes judgement. Like it is the opinion of society that driving drunk is wrong; hence those violating that opinion get judged and some action occurs.

We are sharing our opinion here - we are not judging anyone.

Specializes in school nursing/ maternal/child hospital based.

Im in the middle school ( 6-8 grades) almost all of my "religious exemptions" are like this.

Specializes in ED, School Nurse.

I have a religious exemption that starts out "Our God is a sovereign God and He is the healer of all disease."

I truly don't care what religion you are, but I .... I just can't with this one. If your kid gets pertussis and dies, does that mean you didn't pray hard enough?

I actually think that by the tone of many of these comments here people are both sharing their opinions and judging people. I doubt you can have an 'opinion', express it in the manner of many of these posts, and not have that overflow into judging the people you are talking about.

Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.
I actually think that by the tone of many of these comments here people are both sharing their opinions and judging people. I doubt you can have an 'opinion', express it in the manner of many of these posts, and not have that overflow into judging the people you are talking about.

I can agree with this. I think that what often sullies a thread is the commentor doesn't understand the environment and context; in this case, school nursing. For example, I couldn't possibly understand the context of Ob/Gyn postings so I would be reluctant to offer an opinion of something I would be ignorant of or not have experience with.

Specializes in School nursing.
I can agree with this. I think that what often sullies a thread is the commentor doesn't understand the environment and context; in this case, school nursing. For example, I couldn't possibly understand the context of Ob/Gyn postings so I would be reluctant to offer an opinion of something I would be ignorant of or not have experience with.

OD speaks the truth. We are school nurses and health for the children in the schools we manage is our #1 priority. This includes management of immunization records to help prevent outbreaks of certain illnesses in schools.

From our point of view, it can be frustrating finding out, for example, a student has the measles. The measles is spread very, very easily. 90% of people who are exposed to and not immune/vaccinated will get it (Source: CDC). That could mean, for example, we have 11 children not up to date on their MMR vaccine in our school. One of those students comes in with the measles and suddenly 9/10 non-vaccinated children gets the measles. Luckily, non of them suffer any long term effects, but they miss several days of school, impacting their learning and perhaps for even a couple of them it means they fail a few classes and repeat the grade. That didn't need to happen. And that is what is frustrating for me. Perhaps it is a basis, yes. But protecting children's health in school is my job and vaccines are a way this can happen.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

She even wants to stop taking her Thyroid med because something in it comes from animals.

Thank you for allowing me to vent; I now return you to your regular school-nurse thread!

If she really needs that thyroid med, she'll eventually feel really terrible without it and maybe that will get her to reconsider her stance on that one.

I can empathize about the sister issue. I've had some similar issues with my sister.

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