Published Aug 11, 2009
tavia_yeung
186 Posts
Ok...so I'm in a training CNA school and they require me to submit the chicken pox paper cos I used to have the pox when I was a kid. But I no longer have the medical record for that, so do I have to take the chicken pox vaccine again so that I can have the paper to submit to the school, or do I have to do a blood test for that? What should I do now so I can have the paper to turn in to the school? I need to submit that paper otherwise I can't attend the clinical.
MY DR. NO LONGER KEEP MY THE MEDICAL RECORD FOR THE POX COS THAT PAPER IS OLDER THAN 10 YRS.
SoulFood
18 Posts
That's really strange! In the state of Oregon all that was required was proof of measles immunity and a negative PPD in order to participate in clinicals. In fact, I've never had the chicken pox, nor was I vaccinated against it! Oh well, if it's required, then you will either have to have a titer drawn to prove you are immune or get the vaccination.
KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN
1,641 Posts
I had to show proof that either I received the vaccine or verbally tell them that I had the pox (had it when I was 3). Can you call your county health department or something to see if they have your records on file?
ayla2004, ASN, RN
782 Posts
you need varicella titres
KaliNurse
47 Posts
That's correct. You need to go to your family physician and have titers drawn for Chicken Pox. This will tell how high/low your titer levels are for chicken pox. If you still have a decent level, you may not need to get the Varivax vaccine.
caroladybelle, BSN, RN
5,486 Posts
You need to have a varicella titer drawn to show that you are immune to the disease. Or provide serious reasons for not being immune/permitting vaccination.
Many facilities are requiring "mandatory" vaccination for certain diseases. You are either show proof of vaccination, proof of having had the illness, or a positive titer for the disease. These generally include chickenpox, Hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, influenza.
This might also prep you as many facilities require these for employees.
(Hopefully, you titer positive - if not, the vaccination could keep you out for 3 weeks or so. Varicella vaccination is such that you cannot be around immunologically compromised patients for about 10 days to 3 weeks, thus the reason to get it done before starting a healthcare career)
sonomala
416 Posts
I had to have the titer done before my cna class. I was worried because I had a mild case of chicken pox when I was 13 and the doctor then said I might not have gained immunity from it. Luckily the titre came back and I didn't need to get the vaccine :). One major downside to it, insurance didn't cover the titer and I had to shell out 70 bucks for it plus the mmr titer. Fun, not.
Thank you very much everybody for the replies....it's very helpful to me alots!!!!!!!!