Mandating Flu Vaccines for Nurses

By Diana J. Mason, RN, PhD, editor-in-chief emeritus

Yesterday, nurses and other health care workers from New York State went to the state capitol in Albany to protest a regulation issued by the New York State Department of Health mandating that all health care workers get vaccinated for both the seasonal flu and for the pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza by November 30th or lose their jobs. Deborah Gerhardt, RN, who was interviewed by USA Today, says she may have to lose her job because she doesn’t have confidence in the safety of the new H1N1 vaccine: “Just because the FDA approved the H1N1 vaccine ‘doesn’t mean it’s safe in my book.'”

mandatingflushotsNew York State Commissioner of Health Richard Daines, MD, disagrees, and followed up an open letter to health care workers released on September 24th with a press conference to defend the new policy. The New York State Nurses Association, which urges nurses to get vaccinated but is against mandatory vaccinations, wrote their own open letter in response.

Citing one study of health care workers during a mild flu season that showed that 23% of the workers showed evidence of having had the flu that season but that 59% of these said they didn’t have the flu that year, Daines said that his concern is that workers are carrying the virus and exposing at-risk patients without realizing it. When challenged on whether family members and other visitors represent an equally great threat to patient […]

2016-11-21T13:22:03-05:00September 30th, 2009|nursing perspective|7 Comments
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Don’t Panic, Prepare: Edgy Moment for H1N1

By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN editorial director & interim editor-in-chief

'Nuff Said by ElektraCute / Elektra Noelani Fisher, via Flickr.

While many people (including nurses) remain relatively unworried about the coming flu season, others, it seems, are on high alert. I do wonder about the millions of dollars being spent (and being made) in the name of H1N1 (swine flu). I’ve heard of several seminars touting “must-know” facts and bearing titles that might make hospital administrators feel negligent if they don’t send staff (at hefty registration fees). Many companies, including mine, are distributing bottles of hand sanitizer to employees. And I can’t even imagine how many N95 respirators have sold since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently recommended their use by health care workers caring for patients with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza.

Take it seriously. Still, as a former emergency nurse, I’m all for being prepared for disasters. This influenza should be taken seriously. As of September 20, the World Health Organization reports there have been 3,917 deaths and more than 300,000 confirmed cases worldwide, although the actual number of cases is probably much higher.  The latest surveillance report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates widespread flu activity throughout much of the […]

2016-11-21T13:22:05-05:00September 29th, 2009|nursing perspective|0 Comments
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Shortage of School Nurses Means Greater Student Vulnerability to H1N1

By Alison Bulman, AJN senior editorial coordinator

the school bus routine by woodley wonderworks, via Flickr.

On Friday the New York Times reported that a shortage of school nurses is making students more vulnerable to the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus, stating that  ” [m]any districts have few or no nurses to prevent or respond to outbreaks, leaving students more vulnerable to a virus that spreads easily in classrooms and takes a heavier toll on children and young adults.”

The article acknowledges the key role played by school nurse Mary Pappas, who we interviewed for this blog shortly after she’d helped identify the first U.S. cases of H1N1 at a school in Queens. As AJN reported in June, school nurses  have been and will continue to be on the front lines of efforts to prevent or manage outbreaks. But the school nursing shortage is acute, with just one nurse for every 1,155 students nationally, a ratio that the American Federation of Teachers has called “dangerous.” With a new school year underway, the Times reports, school districts are relying more heavily on non–health care personnel to identify and isolate sick kids and monitor absences.

For more on issues related to school nurses and nursing, see these recent posts:

Can School Nurses Help Prevent Heat Stroke Fatalities in High School Football?

Nurse Organizations Oppose Move to Allow Non-Licensed Personnel to Give Insulin to Students


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2016-11-21T13:22:07-05:00September 28th, 2009|Nursing|1 Comment
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Have ‘Mercy’! One Nurse’s Take on the Latest Nurse Drama

MercyScreenshotBy Peggy McDaniel, BSN, RN

As a long-time fan of ER and Grey’s Anatomy, I looked forward to watching the first episode of Mercy, an NBC drama that focuses on three nurses instead of using doctors as the primary characters (click the image to visit the show’s Website, where you can check out the first episode). At the same time, while I’ve often laughed aloud at the tasks doctors are seen doing on Grey’s Anatomy, such as putting patients through a CT scan, it’s the characters that make the show compelling—and as a clinician, I choose to enjoy them and ignore that you rarely see a nurse at the bedside.

ER, unlike Grey’s Anatomy, featured what I would consider “real” nurses doing “real” nursing tasks backed by intelligence, education, and intuition. Maybe it made a difference that it was originally created by Michael Crichton, a doctor who obviously knew something about what happens in a clinical setting. ER skillfully blended clinical action and personal stories of strong, engaging characters. As a clinician, I loved the accuracy and drama.

I have mixed feelings about Mercy. The first episode introduced the characters, who appeared to be at least interesting, if not scintillating. Veronica, the primary character, suffers from PTSD after her return from service in Iraq. While she showed […]

2016-11-21T13:22:09-05:00September 25th, 2009|career, nursing perspective|2 Comments
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Clearing the Mind: Charles Kaiman, Nurse and Artist

Kaiman's "Self-Portrait," September cover

Charles Kaiman, a clinical nurse specialist in psychiatric mental health nursing at the New Mexico Veterans Affairs facility in Albuquerque, is also an acclaimed artist. This month we feature his work both on our cover and in Art of Nursing. In On the Cover, Kaiman offers thoughts on his painting technique, which he calls “a form of visual meditation,” and describes how it clears the mind.  If you’re in the New York City area in early October, come check out his show at the Blue Mountain Gallery at 530 West 25 Street in Manhattan, October 6 through 31. For more information, visit the artist’s Web site.

Sylvia Foley, AJN senior editor

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2016-11-21T13:22:12-05:00September 24th, 2009|Nursing|1 Comment
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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