Vaccines

Good day, michelle99:

Each school is different, so check with your program adviser.

Thank you.

I would start now, the sooner the better. It's actually mandatory for my program to have all vaccinations and certifications done prior to orientation.

My school requires

Hepatitis B series (3 Vaccines)

MMR (2 Vaccines or Positive Titer)

Varicella (2 Vaccines or Positive Titer)

TB test

Tetorifice/Diphtheria/Pertussis (TDaP within last 10 years)

Seasonal Flu (You'll have to wait until flu season comes around for this one)

Physical Exam

BLS Healthcare Provider CPR Certification

Your program of course may differ, but it never hurts to get them out of the way earlier.

Good day, NiftyGirl2014

As you shared, "My school requires"

Since vaccinations are not necessarily free, it's more economical to get only the vaccines the school requires.

Thank you.

You should call to make sure, but you might want to wait on the BLS Healthcare Provider CPR Certification. My school (ADN) doesn't want you to do it until the point that you would not need to re certify during the program. The Certification is good 2 years. So, if you graduated 6/2016, you could not take it until 6/2014.

I hope I didn't say anything misleading.

Of course you can always call your program and see what their vaccination requirements are if you haven't already been notified, and also ask when your deadline to get them is.

I have a friend at a different program who although had the same requirements, had until the first day to get them done.

I on the other hand as previously stated have to have them done by the day of orientation.

Always double check with YOUR program.

Hepatitis B takes about 6 months to complete so it is better to get started now. Even I applied for spring 2015 at Hcc and my program requires me to have it all done before the first day of program. Check with your school just to be on the safe side

If you had immunizations as a child, there should be nothing extra that you need in nursing school other than, maybe, meningococcal if nursing school is college for you (as it was for me) and you will be boarding. I have literally not ever had a vaccine related to being in nursing, the only vaccines I've gotten as an adult were related to travel.

I only needed titers to prove immunity

Like others have said, you should check what the health requirements for your school are. Most will take your vaccine record from childhood or positive titers. A few require records and titers. I can almost guarantee that you will need your TB PPD, MMR, Varicella, Dtap, Flu, and either Hep B or a waiver for Hep B. There way be a slight variation to what you need, but it should be very similar to that. You school can tell you if they need records or titers. However, if you don't have an Occ health office that will do titers, or a health department that will, then they can be pricey and not usually covered by insurance. In that case getting the vaccines through the health department would be cheapest, but will take 6 ish months from start to finish for all of them. Basically, call tomorrow or see if yours schools nursing website has the requirements listed and get started on them so you are ready to go. GL

My school required either vaccine record OR positive titers plus a PPD within the last 6 mos.