Peer Critical Evaluation for question 1
Instructions: Add to your peers’ critical evaluation of the issue by posing an intelligent question to one post OR add information to one post that contributes to a more complete picture of the policy issue or the state of the legislation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issue a Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule and pediatricians throughout the country administer many vaccinations each year. There are parents though that do not have their children immunized for whatever reason. I wanted to see what the law said and if there was a bill related to this. On the CDC website I found “No federal vaccination laws exist, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public schools. Depending on the state, children must be vaccinated against some or all of the following diseases: mumps, measles, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and polio.” (www.cdc.gov). A link to see what each state requires is here.
For Illinois, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Title 77, Chapter 1 discusses the requirements for immunizations. I was most interested on the details of what happens if a parents has an objection to the required immunizations. Section 665.510 of the code states that “Parents or legal guardians who object to health, dental or eye examinations or any part thereof, or to immunizations, or to vision and hearing screening tests, on religious grounds shall not be required to submit their children or wards to the examinations or immunizations to which they so object if such parents or legal guardians present to the appropriate local school authority a signed statement of objection, detailing the grounds for the objection. The objection must set forth the specific religious belief that conflicts with the examination, immunization or other medical intervention. The religious objection may be personal and need not be directly by the tenets of an established religious organization. General philosophical or moral reluctance to allow physical examinations, eye examinations, immunizations, vision and hearing screening, or dental examinations will not provide a sufficient basis for an exception to statutory requirements. The local school authority is responsible for determining whether the written statement constitutes a valid religious objection.” (http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/077/077006650E05100R.html).
So, basically, if the parent or legal guardian has a religious reason to not have the child vaccinated, that is acceptable as decided by the local school. But if the reason is strictly based on their personal beliefs or philosophical beliefs, the school will not accept that has a reason to not have the child immunized. I was surprised that the laws on immunizations were not federal and they are handled on a state to state basis. I thought all along this was a federally controlled topic.
This issue is particularly important to me because one of my cousins who has 3 kids believes in not having them immunized. She has personal reasons, not religious and has refused all vaccinations for all three children. The oldest child is approaching school age and has already had difficulty in finding a pre-school that will accept him, without having the immunizations. I can only imagine as they start to enter the school system the issues they are going to have.
Illinois Department of Public Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from HTTP://wow..Novak/vaccine-laws/state-vaccine-requirements/orig.Illinois
Section 665. (n.d.). Retrieved from HTTP://wow.ilia.gov/commission/jar/admincode/077/077006650E05100R.html
Peer evaluation for Question 2
Instructions: Supply an additional strategy to the posted solutions or provide a supportive critique of the proposed solution, including a strategy that would make it more effective
Networking is extremely important to advancing the career of nursing and cultivating policies to better the field for nurses and consumers. Networking in itself can be difficult to do but it also time consuming and overwhelming. It can be complicated to know which opportunities to peruse. In my past position individuals in the field took the time to acclimate “newbies” to the world of networking. If there hadn’t been those opportunities for me, I’m not sure I would have been as active. Once a year we had a state conference that was paid for us to go and learn but we were also expected to network as many state legislators were in attendance. I agree with the article that sometimes “the ability to ask for help is sometimes perceived as a weakness rather than strength”. If it weren’t asked of us, it would have been tough to know to do that. For that I am grateful.
The other tough part is that not everyone is going to have the same view as you. You can, and will, make enemies by believing in something and speaking up is that relationships can become strained. “Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate”. Even though you believe in what you’re fighting for, it can take a toll emotionally.
Warner, J. (2003). A phenomenological approach to political competence: stories of nurse activists. Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice, 4(2), 135-143.
