Why the anti-vaxxer label makes this medical student uncomfortable

I’ve had some of the most wonderful experiences of my entire medical training working with kids and their families. And this, to me, is not surprising. After all, I envisioned myself as a pediatrician long before I ever entered medical school. However, I remember that more frequent news of declining vaccination rates at one point temporarily gave me pause: What would it be like to take on the tremendous responsibility of convincing a parent to protect their child against some of the world’s most dangerous diseases? I knew that with time I would be up for the challenge, but early on in my training, it definitely seemed daunting. In any case, several months into my rotations, I had only been seeing parents on the other end of the spectrum. In fact, I had seen a parent tell their child’s provider, “Your job is to know what vaccines my kids need; my job is just to bring them to you.” The trust these attendings (and often even residents) built with patient families was nothing short of inspirational. On this particular day, the family I saw with the team was a soft-spoken couple who had just recently moved to the area with their infant. Going through the well-child visit, the topic of vaccines, of course, came up. The family was quite distressed about a fever and feeding changes that seemed temporally related to their child’s last vaccination. As a result, they were hesitant to continue with the established vaccination schedule. They probed us ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Education Allergies & Immunology Medical school Pediatrics Primary Care Source Type: blogs