Vaccination question

BacktotheBeach, ADN, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2010

Try to get your medical records now to check. If not, you will have to have titers drawn, which show which diseases you have immunity to. For instance, if you don't have proof of a chicken pox vaccine or of having the disease itself, you will need a titer drawn to check your level of immunity.

You will need either vaccinations or immunity to things like MMR, measles, chicken pox.

The Hep B series does take a number of months, so if that is one you need it is best to get started on it right away.

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · Sep 3, 2010

all schools say they're required, they forget to mention there's exemptions for those choosing to not get the vaccine(s). state vaccine requirements – national vaccine information center

if you're willing to go with what they want....it's usually the mmr (measles is included in that), hep b, chicken pox and sometimes dtap. good luck, i just want you to know you have a choice.

CuriousMe · Sep 3, 2010

all schools say they're required, they forget to mention there's exemptions for those choosing to not get the vaccine(s). state vaccine requirements - national vaccine information center
if you're willing to go with what they want....it's usually the mmr (measles is included in that), hep b, chicken pox and sometimes dtap. good luck, i just want you to know you have a choice.

as has been posted here ad nauseum....since it's not the school's requiring this, but the clinical sites...most programs do not allow you to defer. this isn't illegal, because it's not the school setting the requirements. it's the clinical site. since a nursing student can not pass nursing school without going to clinicals, the schools make the clinical requirements conditions of admission.

since nursing students doing clinicals are merely guests (as in not employees) at hospitals, they don't fall under employment law. students are guests at the facility, and so need to comply with any regulations the hospital sets.

i know crunchymama, will argue this and post the same link she has above.....but any program with a clinical requirement is different than going college as say an english major. for the english major, it's the school setting the requirement (and this falls under state guidelines that crunchmama posted).....but clinical sites are not schools, and as such are not bound by laws that govern schools.

this means, that if the clinical site used by a nursing program requires vaccination from all nursing students....other than a medical exclusion, there's no way around it. if a student does not have the required vaccinations, they are not a welcome guest and may not attend clinicals at that hospital. if the hospital is flexible about nursing student vaccinations, then it isn't a problem.

CuriousMe · Sep 3, 2010

I haven't been accepted into nursing school yet (hopefully I'll get that letter in October), but several vaccinations are required. How long do these take? I really have no idea what shots I've already had.

As mentioned, check with your medical records. If you're unsure, or don't have the documentation needed for the vaccine, you can always get a blood test (a titer) to see if you're immune.

The only series that takes a while is the Hep B (as someone else mentioned) but usually, if you've at least started the series, the school will accept that.

Amaranthine · Sep 4, 2010

Thank you all! :)

JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN · Sep 5, 2010

The hep B can take up to 6 months so I would start that. I believe you'll need 2 MMRs, possibly 1 depending on your state. PPD will likely need to be done once a year and for my state the TDaP every 2 years. My health records/vaccines are about a million years old so I got the varicella titer and shots for the rest.

The exemptions are for kids entering school. Unless you have an allergic reaction to a vaccine, which is extremely rare, it is completely irresponsible to try to get some type of exemption. Pertussis, AKA: whooping cough, is extremely contagious. In an adult, you might think you've caught a cold. If you give it to a newborn who cannot be immunized for the disease until several weeks to months after birth, he will have a good chance of either dying or having his lungs permanently damaged. Find a video on youtube that shows a newborn struggling for breath in an emergency room after contracting pertussis. If a student at my school tried to opt out of vaccinations, the instructors would laugh him/her right out of class. Just my very strong and not very humble opinion.

sharpeimom · Sep 5, 2010

the hep b can take up to 6 months so i would start that. i believe you'll need 2 mmrs, possibly 1 depending on your state. ppd will likely need to be done once a year and for my state the tdap every 2 years. my health records/vaccines are about a million years old so i got the varicella titer and shots for the rest.
the exemptions are for kids entering school. unless you have an allergic reaction to a vaccine, which is extremely rare, it is completely irresponsible to try to get some type of exemption. pertussis, aka: whooping cough, is extremely contagious. in an adult, you might think you've caught a cold. if you give it to a newborn who cannot be immunized for the disease until several weeks to months after birth, he will have a good chance of either dying or having his lungs permanently damaged. find a video on youtube that shows a newborn struggling for breath in an emergency room after contracting pertussis. if a student at my school tried to opt out of vaccinations, the instructors would laugh him/her right out of class. just my very strong and not very humble opinion.

just in case you're thinking of trying to defer (and you haven't said you will) vaccines, let me share.

the family down the street has an adult daughter who is in her 50's. they are extremely religious and did not have either of their kids immunized for anything. the boy grew up and graduated from an ivy league law school summa cum laude. his twin sister contracted measles when she was 4 months old. her development had been right on schedule prior to her illness. today, she is six feet tall and functions on a one year old level. didn't have to be that way!

we have an amish cleaning girl. (unmarried amish women are "girls" whether they are 9 or 99) she has lost several neices and nephews and cousins to whooping cough in infancy. the old order amish just quietly accept these deaths as god's will. i asked her once, if god sending the vaccine to save the babies and children from death wasn't his will in another form, what was? she had no answer.

get immunized!!

rn/writer, RN · Sep 5, 2010

You may not have to have completed the Hep B series. In many cases, if you start it and stick to the booster schedule, you are considered immune. It would follow then that letting the booster schedule lapse is not a good idea.

ziggysgal,RN · Sep 5, 2010

Just wanted to add something to this discussion that one of my instructors mentioned regarding vaccinations...

You have the right to refuse... but YOUR right to refuse does not negate the facility's (school's, etc) right to refuse to allow you access.

Yes, be informed. It is better to be too informed than not informed enough.

However, understand that part of being informed includes knowing potential consequences of your decision to refuse, just as much as it includes knowing potential consequences of accepting vaccination.

Those diseases are not common these days, because of vaccines. There would be rampant outbreaks without the vaccines.. I believe it is part of the precautions that we as nurses (and student nurses) take to prevent the spread of infection. (First week or two of nursing school: aseptic technique, universal precautions, and chain of infection...)