FYI for all ye non-trads

[Sthpawslugger]

If you don't have your original immunization records-not just your titers-start calling your school, ask your parents, etc, particularly if applying in the next cycle. It's a p.i.t.a. trying to locate documentation from 30+ yrs ago.

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[JocktoDoc]

If you don't have your original immunization records-not just your titers-start calling your school, ask your parents, etc, particularly if applying in the next cycle. It's a p.i.t.a. trying to locate documentation from 30+ yrs ago.

Why aren't they just accepting titers? Is this the norm at all schools?

 

[DrMidlife]

I second the idea: find those records early, keep track of them forever. Your med school wants them, different hospitals want them, away electives, residency, etc. In my experience, no, there's not a norm. Some schools want titers, some want shot dates, some want original records from childhood. This stuff can all get taken care of, just not quickly and maybe not cheaply.

Requirements can vary quite a bit between med schools & hospitals, and what your med school does might not be adequate for other programs moving forward. When I applied for away electives last year, each program had an immunization form to download, and the info requested varied quite a bit between programs. I took my stack of those forms into my school's occupational health office...at the same time all my classmates needed those forms...and then my school couldn't/wouldn't give shots or draw titers...and my insurance wouldn't pay...and shots you're expected to get as a kid aren't necessarily kept on hand in an adult doc office. That's during the 3rd year of med school. And now I'm doing it again for residency.

Of note, if you're over 40 you probably stood in a line for a polio shot in elementary school. Good luck finding those records. Get an IPV if you don't have them around. Gotta be the grownup in charge.

Best of luck to you.

 

[DrMikeP]

Yes it is a PITA that isn't going to ever go away if you are in healthcare.

Dr Midlife is correct requirements really do vary, and sometimes administrators (who know very little about medicine) don't care about if something makes sense or not, so gather everything possible and hang onto it forever. I had the mumps and measles as a kid and had documentation and positive titers, but ended up having to get an MMR because a hospital required it and the administrator was stuck on the rule must be followed.

Sometimes you can get lucky if as a kid at school you received immunizations sponsored by the local health dept, as some have records dating back years.

A really cheap place for ordering titers if you don't have a physician/insurance:
http://requestatest.com/