Information for Students with Clinical Placement in a NSW Health Facility
All students with clinical placement should receive a red and white Adult Vaccination Record card.
Health Service doctors are very familiar with the NSW Health policy on immunisations and can help you meet your immunisation requirements for your clinical placements.
When attending an appointment to review your immunisations, you should bring your record card with the front details completed, any past immunisation records that you have, and copies of results of blood tests to check immunity that you may have had.
If you wish to see your usual general practitioner to help you complete the card, then they may find the following information useful:
- A single dose of adult Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (DTPa, Boostrix or Adacel) vaccine is mandatory. This has been given in schools in year 10 since 2004. You must have documentary evidence that you have had this vaccine. If you do not, then you must have the vaccine, even if you think you have already had it.
- You must have had a full course of Hepatitis B vaccine (3 injections over 6 months not a rapid course) AND a blood test for Hepatitis B Surface Antibody demonstrating immunity. You will usually be able to start a placement if you have had the first dose and undertake to complete the course on schedule and have a blood test when the course is completed.
- Annual influenza vaccine is highly recommended but not mandatory.
- If born after 1966 you must have 2 documented doses of Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR). If you do not, then Hunter New England Population Health recommends that you are given the two doses at least one month apart (or one dose if you have proof of one previous dose). MMR Vaccine is very safe and does not cause any problems if you have previously had it, so blood tests for immunity are not routinely recommended.
- If you have a definite past history of chicken pox (usually in childhood), this needs to be recorded on your vaccination card and you do not need to do anything else. If you do not have a past history then you should have a blood test for antibodies. Many people have had chicken pox and are immune but it has not been severe enough to cause an obvious illness. If the blood test is negative you will require two doses of Varicella vaccine.
- Tuberculin Skin Testing (Mantoux testing) is only required if you were born overseas in a high TB incidence country or have lived overseas in a high TB incidence country for longer than 3 months. This is a recent change in policy by NSW Health and details of how it will be implemented will be available early in 2010.