Student Handbook

o If tuberculosis test is positive, a chest x-ray recording the results, date and place of examination is required. • Proof of two doses of measles vaccine, and one dose each of mumps vaccine and rubella vaccine or serological evidence of antibodies. • The Hepatitis B vaccine (three shots) is strongly recommended but not required. You are, however, required to notify the College if you have received the vaccine, if you will be receiving the vaccine or if you do not wish to receive the vaccine. *Following guidance from the NYS DOH, an Interferon-Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) needs to be completed within three months of admission to the College (as noted on the student initial health assessment form). If a student does not comply or does not present acceptable evidence of compliance, the College must refuse to allow the student to continue in attendance. Information about Hepatitis B and the Vaccine (Recombinant) All students should be aware of the signs and preventability of Hepatitis B. Since medical history and examination cannot reliably identify all patients infected with Hepatitis B (HBV) or other blood-transmissible pathogens, barrier safeguards should be used by all individuals that provide care to patients at the University Eye Center. Hepatitis B (serum hepatitis) is a disease that is more common in hospital workers than it is in the general population. Those at the highest risk are those whose jobs may result in direct contact with blood, such as patient care workers in emergency rooms and dialysis units, as well as technicians in blood banks and coagulation laboratories. Though optometric student interns are not in this “highest risk” category, they are entering into a profession in which direct patient contact is necessary. This will be true as you rotate through the various clinics at the University Eye Center and various satellite facilities. Since there is always the possibility of infection, no matter how slight, and because this particular disease has received considerable public health attention, the College wishes to make you aware of the options available, should you wish to avail yourself to them. Most individuals who get Hepatitis B have either no symptoms or a mild illness. Many, however, will be sick enough to be temporarily disabled and a few will have severe life-threatening illness. In addition, some people who recover from the attack will become carriers of the virus (a condition in which they may infect others) and some will develop chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis. In the trials of the Hepatitis B vaccine, it was given to several thousand individuals. The major side effects were mild soreness at the injection site and slight fever. Rash, nausea, joint pain, and fatigue were rarely reported. Reactions were seen no more frequently than when a placebo (an injection that did not contain vaccine) was given. However, it is possible that unanticipated side effects may appear that were not seen when the vaccine was under study. These side effects may be unimportant or serious, but there is a very real danger that without vaccination, a

32