Over in a thread in MPSIMS about whooping cough vaccination, a comment was made that someone was able to get the vaccine at the pharmacy so no need to see a doctor?
What?:eek:
The chemist just gives you a vial of fluid and a needle and says there you go have fun storming the castle?
How does that work, is there a RN working in the chemist or something? Or is it really carte blanche - here’s the vaccine do what you like with it?
In Australia, most vaccines are held by and given to you by your GP. On the odd occasion the GP might not have the vaccine in the office, they will give you a prescription for you to go to the chemist, buy the vaccine, but then you have to take it back the GP to administer.
Drugstores are allowed to give vaccines. An “immunizing professional is on duty.” My husband got a flu vaccine from Walgreen’s, paid for by his company. I got mine at my place of business, for free.
From what I have seen vaccines at drug stores are very recent, at least here in NC. I have only seen them done in the last 2 or 3 years. Maybe they were done a while back and they just did not run ads .
All the drug stores here offer flu shots this time of year. There’s a nurse who comes in at scheduled times, collects your info and your cash, and gives the shot.
In NJ many supermarkets offer them. I got my flu shot at the local ShopRite this year. You have to sign a consent form and they have a nurse that gives you the actual shot. You can also get them at the pharmacy.
I think here they can be done by a pharmacist , a RN is not needed. It could be based on state law. I know some drugstores now have a clinic with a fulltime RN but they are not the only places giving out flu shots.
Nor does it seem all that out of line to me. It’s not like administering an injection is a procedure requiring years of training. In cases where patients require regular injections of something, people are quite often trained to administer injections to themselves or their children.
In most states in the U.S. Pharmacist’s are allowed to give vaccinations as long as they have been certified, and have an up to date CPR certification. Personally, I’ve taken the certification class, and passed the test, and I’m just waiting on my certificate to come in the mail. Then I will be legally allowed to give vaccinations.
Which vaccinations we can give depends on the state. I think all 50 states allow pharmacists to give the flu vaccine, but the other vaccines vary. I know Florida only allows the Flu vaccine, while us pharmacists (or pharmacists-to-be) in Georgia can give pretty much every vaccine.
We have that here in Canada too. It’s not a big deal. I give my husband allergy shots all the time. I have a friend who is diabetic and gives herself shots daily. When my sister had cancer, my mom gave her the steroid shots until my sister felt comfortable doing it herself. If I end up having to do shots as part of my fertility treatments, I’ll be giving them to myself.
It’s not like vaccines need to go in to a vein or something. It’s not hard to give a SC or IM shot if you know what you’re doing.
My pharmacy has a sign posted which states that the Pharmacists are all certified (or whatever) to administer vaccines.
Considering that a few weeks ago, my boyfriend was injecting blood thinners into his stomach twice a day for over a week without a smidgen of medical training, I have no problem with pharmacists doing it.
Pharmacists have a whole lot of college (I think it’s 6 years but it might be 8), quite a bit of it involving science (including bio, and A&P). They know (in many cases better than a GP) what a medication will do to you.
It’s not like they have some 18 year old pharmacy technician with 2 months on the job doing it.
Oh, I also don’t think I’ve ever had a vaccine that went into a vein. They’ve all just been someone jamming a needle into my upper arm, right into the muscle (fat is more like it). Hell, even I could do that.
Of course not. The chemist or trained associate gives it. Where did you get the impression that people gave it to themselves there?
Not so. Every non-small workplace I know of has an arrangement where trained people visit on one or two days a year to give bulk flu shots for $0. I’m sure the total of those approaches if not exceeds those given by GPs.
A lot of pharmacies around here are starting to have nurse practitioners on duty as a “Minute Clinic” service as well. Nurse practitioners and physicians assistants (very similar job) operate like physicians for non-emergency care and can perform basic medical procedures as well as prescribe medication under general supervision of a doctor. That is a good thing because you can just walk in, pay a small fee, buy some magazines and groceries and walk out with your prescription filled all under one roof. It is very convenient for non-urgent care and I hope that model expands so the full doctors can focus on the harder stuff.
If I remember correctly, being a pharmacist in Australia requires an undergraduate degree, while PharmD is a 4 year graduate degree in the United States. This, of course, tells you nothing about their qualifications to administer immunizations, but might contribute to the perception that it’s somehow out of line.
I don’t know. Just in the offhand way it was presented I found it strange to be getting a vaccination adminstered at a chemist. Plus you must excuse me for trying to play it up just a little for humorous effect.
I actually know this. And about two seconds after I hit submit, (always the way) that yes indeed the last two years I myself was given a flu shot through my employer. However that was still done by a registered nurse.
Yep, 4 year bachelor course for a pharmcist in Australia. And you have to be pretty smart to get in. OP* 4 was the cutoff last year. However from my understanding of the American university system an undergraduate degree from an American college is very different from the same ‘named’ degree in Australia, But that’s a question for another thread.
Maybe its just me, that I couldn’t easily connect ‘the person who dispenses the good drugs & gives some minor health advice occasionally’ with ‘the person who will stick me with a needle’.
Non Australian’s won’t get the reference to OP, but suffice it to say every high school graduate gets graded with an OP score, 1 being the best, through to 30ish (I think) and universities take the higher OP’s into the courses first, so low OP you can miss out on your prefered course.
When I was in Mexico doing a spanish immersion, I was told that it was common in some places to go to the pharmacy once a day, get a single dose of antibiotic and a single syringe, and take it home (for, say, a 10 day run of Rocephin). The high school age daughter of my host family told me she learned how to administer them in her health class.
That’s the reason I pointed it out. To me, a pharmacist is in the same “mental class” of professional as a dentist, a physician, a nurse practitioner, a psychiatrist or even a veterinarian or a lawyer. Highly trained, licensed professionals with a lot to lose. If any of those people want to habitually take up giving immunizations it doesn’t really bother me.
Now if a dental hygienist wants to take over novocaine duty next time I’m getting a filling, that would make me a little uncomfortable.
