Vaccine for students

[llg]

What are nursing schools doing about students this year? Requiring both vaccines? Making it available to students? etc.

What are clinical agencies doing about students? Requiring vaccines? etc.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I spent time yesterday at work clarifying my hospital's policy for students and notifying the schools. Both vaccines will be mandatory for students (and staff of course) if and when available.

Students (and staff) will be sent home if they have an inflenza-like illness. They will be told to stay home for 7 days after the onset of symptoms and having no fever for at least 24 hours.

Amazingly to me, few of the school officials and faculty members I spoke with were aware of any concrete plans made by their school to deal with this beyond "encouraging" students to stay home, get flu shots, etc.. Some were stymied when I asked them what they would do if half of their students/faculty were barred from clinical enough times so that the students did not fulfill their required clinical hours for a specific course. Fortunately, I have good relationships with these folks and they were appreciative of my "heads up" -- and will start to make plans now.