If you are, then there are additional heath requirements to protect both you and your patients. Students who earn degrees or certificates in Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Massage Therapy, Radiologic Technology, Health Information, Emergency Medical Technician, and Dental Assisting must successfully complete a combination of classroom study and a clinical experience. Clinical experience brings the student in direct contact with patients in the health care field of study.

This direct patient contact increases your risk of being exposed to communicable diseases and of sustaining job related injury due to the physical demands of your chosen profession. The Health Services Department is required by New York State law to clear all Health Career students before they participate in clinical rotations. For clearance, you will need to have a physical examination completed by your primary health care provider. The physical exam is directed at whether you are physically and mentally capable of fulfilling the requirements of the program. This will also include a report of required immunizations, a PPD placement and reading, and referral for follow-up as needed.

This information will be collected by Health Services and maintained in a confidential manner. You are also required to sign a release permitting Health Services to communicate the information in your Physical Assessment to the facilities in which you will have clinical placement should this information be requested.

All of the Health Career programs, with the exception of Health Information, are also required to complete a Student Checklist Evaluation of Technical Standards. This form enables the student to better grasp the physical demands which may be required of your chosen program. If when answering these questions you find you may have difficulty performing some of the physical demands it is recommended that you discuss this with your doctor in order to avoid injury.

The additional immunizations required for clinical placement involve communicable diseases which have shown to be quite serious, yet preventable with vaccination or early detection and treatment in the case of the yearly tuberculin test.

The Hepatitis B series of vaccines is recommended due to the increased risk of exposure to Hepatitis B during clinical rotations. Hepatitis B is a viral infection affecting the liver that can be preventing with vaccination. Health care and public safety workers who have contact with human blood and other body fluids are at increased risk of contracting the infection. Lifelong infection, cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer and liver failure resulting in death are caused by Hepatitis B infection in individuals who have not been immunized.

An annual PPD (Tuberculin skin test) is an additional requirement of the health programs. Tuberculosis is a communicable bacterial disease spread through the air when an affected person coughs or sneezes. A PPD test with a positive reaction may mean the person has a latent tuberculosis infection which means the person has the TB germ, but the disease has not developed. Preventive therapy should be planned under the guidance of your physician. Persons with active TB must complete a course of treatment for six months or more. Though the disease is primarily a lung disease other parts of the body can also be affected. Health care workers are at increased risk of exposure to tuberculosis, therefore yearly screening is required to insure that active TB is caught early before it can be spread to others and to treat a latent TB infection if it is present.

Verification of having received the Tetanus booster within 10 years is also a requirement for the Health Career students. Tetanus is commonly called lockjaw and is caused by toxins produced by a bacterial infection that is introduced to the body through a wound. These toxins attach to the central nervous system causing muscle spasms which can be fatal. Due to widespread immunization, tetanus has become a rare disease.

The staff in Health Services wish you success in your chosen health career and are available to facilitate the process of clearance in any way we can.