 Hi guys, welcome back to this video. I want to talk about immunizations today and how we can talk to our patients about them because immunizations is a hot topic, right? There's a lot of people that feel very strongly about one side and there's a lot of people that feel very strongly about the other side. And it can be kind of hard talking to patients about this because it is so controversial to some people. And it almost feels like a political topic, right? Like you would never like talk to your patient about, hey, what religion are you? Or, hey, like who did you vote for president? Unless it like was a mutually, I don't know, okay conversation. But like that's not typically the things you talk to patients about. And so it can be a little weird and immunizations are like a very hot topic. Immunizations are a big healthcare medical topic and it's something that comes up a lot with patients. And so I want to chat a little bit about how we can address it with our patients and make it a mutually respectful conversation. But before we get started, this video is sponsored by Picmonic. You guys have heard me talk about them a lot before because I really, really truly love Picmonic. Picmonic is a great resource for you guys if you are in nursing school or preparing for the NCLEX because it is all things nursing school and literally has every topic on there. And what they do is they use Picmonics to make little video picture resources to help you remember information in a fun and meaningful way versus just reading straight from a textbook which is so, so bland and dry. So for example, if you were learning about strokes in nursing school, you can go on to Picmonic and research the types of strokes. And it will bring up Picmonics for you to learn and it'll give you a cute story that it'll help you remember the information so much better than if you're just reading it straight from a PowerPoint or from a book. And they have lots of questions on there to help you study all the information that you're just learning. So you can do NCLEX style questions to help you prepare and it also comes with the rationales as well to help you solidify all that information that you're already learning in nursing school. It's a great way to help you prepare for your exams in nursing school and it's a great way to help you prepare for the NCLEX. I will link Picmonic in the description box down below. Make sure you click on that link because it's a discount. It's gonna save you some money by letting you to try out Picmonic for free. All right immunizations guys, okay. So at my hospital we have an immunization screening form that essentially is geared towards the flu and the pneumonia vaccine. And what we do is on every admission the patient is screened for if they can be a candidate to receive the flu vaccine or pneumonia vaccine. And it essentially goes through like, have you already had it? What is their age? What are their risk factors? Is there any contraindications to them receiving these vaccines? And then the last question is like, do you wanna receive this vaccine? So this is kind of like my in, so to speak, to talk to patients about vaccinations is by doing these screening forms because we have to do them anyways. And I can go through all the questions and ask them like, have you had your flu vaccine? And they may say, no. And then I say, do you have any of these, you know, this allergy to eggs and any of these contraindications? And if they say no. And then it goes on to, would you like to receive your flu vaccine while you're here? And if they say yes, awesome, great. You can give them the little handout that shows, you know, what are the potential side effects? What does the vaccine do? What is it good for? Like, how often do you get it? All of the info things, you can give them that sheet. But if someone says no, that's not always the end of the conversation right there. And it's a good time for us as healthcare workers to respectfully educate a patient if they want to. So if my patient says, no, I don't want to receive the flu vaccine, then I will usually ask them one of two questions. One, would you like to receive a little bit more information about it so you can learn more about the vaccine? Or two, I will just ask them in a respectful way. Like, I would like to respectfully ask you why you're choosing not to get the vaccine. And by just asking like, hey, respectfully, can I ask why you want to not receive the vaccine? It can give you insight as to what that patient's reason is. And everyone has a different reason, right? Sometimes they just say, well, I don't know enough about it. And that's when you can say, hey, I've got a bunch of information, I'd be happy to answer your questions. Maybe they say, oh, it's just my own personal religious belief. And then you can say, okay, well I have some information on the vaccine, should you choose to get it? But I respect your decision. Maybe they say, well, my grandpa had a really bad reaction to it and so I'm scared to get it. And that's when you can do some education on vaccines and the reactions and give them maybe a printout about more information. Maybe they say, ah, well that flu shot just doesn't work or I never get the flu so I don't need it. And that's when you can do more education about herd immunity and the effectiveness of vaccines. And if you do get the flu, you have a less likely chance of having worse symptoms and whatnot and you can give them the education and statistics on it. So it's really important and if you're getting anything from this, it's educate your patients. And you can do that in a respectful way to where you are not arguing with them, you're not shoving the information down at their throat. You're simply providing the education so that they can feel best about whatever decision they're gonna make. Now, you gotta be respectful about it and you have to also understand that even if you provide all of the appropriate education and you're respectful to patients, they still may not wanna get the vaccine and you have to just know when to draw the line and say, okay, and just chart that they refuse it and move on. Because we can do all the education in the world, there's still gonna be people that are adamant and they don't want the vaccine and don't waste all your energy on arguing something when you've already provided the education or they know that that education is there. But I can't tell you how many times that people just aren't educated on why we get vaccines and why people should get them and the point of them. And sometimes just doing that little bit of education really can help them make a decision one way or another. I really truly feel as a nurse, it is our job to educate patients on vaccines. If a patient says, no, I don't want a vaccine, I usually don't just take that as a strict no. I usually use it as an opportunity to provide them with a little bit more information but I never push them beyond a level where they're gonna be upset or angry or feel like I'm trying to push a belief onto them because sure, I believe vaccines are effective and I agree with them but also there's a lot of evidence behind it which is why I feel good about making that decision. And so that's the information that we wanna provide is the evidence that we have done over years and years and years of research and the benefits of it. So I hope this gives you a little insight on how to respectfully talk to patients about this because it can be a little awkward, it can be a little controversial. Again, it kinda feels like you're asking them about like, hey, how much money's in your bank account or something that's like, because it is so controversial to a lot of people but as healthcare people, we have to feel secure about the information. We know about vaccines, we have to feel like we can provide that education and evidence in a respectful manner without crossing over a boundary. So yeah, I hope you guys liked this video. If you did, give it a thumbs up. Make sure you check out Picmonic in the description box below and I'll see you in my next video. Bye.