Immunization Information

Students at MGH Institute of Health Professions must maintain their compliance with the Immunization and Certification policy throughout the duration of their enrollment in their academic programs. The requirements are mandated by a combination of policies from the state of Massachusetts, the Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and clinical sites.

The Institute's Office of Compliance monitors the status of each student’s compliance. The Office of Compliance does not directly receive or manage student compliance documentation. A student is not considered "compliant" until documentation has been uploaded and approved. The Institute has retained the services of Exxat Approve by PRISM, a web-based compliance and immunization management software. The Office of Compliance will provide periodic reports to the academic program leadership and the clinical education teams, detailing students who will soon be out of compliance with these requirements.

Students enrolled at the Institute prior to March 2025 will continue to have their compliance monitored by Complio by American Databank.

Submitting Your Health History Information to Exxat Approve

Prior to matriculation, students upload documents to Exxat Approve, documenting their compliance with the Institute's Immunization and Certification Requirements. Students should retain copies of all immunization and certification documentation. Throughout their enrollment, students will utilize Approve to maintain their compliance with immunizations and certifications.
For technical support, contact prism-support [at] exxat.com (prism-support[at]exxat[dot]com).

Immunization Requirements

For Programs With a Clinical Component:

School of Nursing

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Physical Exam

Required once upon matriculation. Exam must be from within the past year.

Tuberculosis (TB) Test

Annually.

Evidence of a negative test annually. TB test satisfying this requirement include:

Tuberculin Skin Test (TST)
- PPD
TB Blood Tests
- QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT-GIT)
- T-SPOT TB test (T-Spot)

If test is positive, a chest X-Ray is required every 5 years, and a TB symptom-free note is required annually.

Basic Life Support (BLS) CPR

Every 2 years.

American Red Cross – BLS for Health Care Providers
American Heart Association– BLS for Healthcare Providers

We accept in-person and hybrid courses. No other courses accepted for this requirement.

Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis vaccine)

Every 10 years.

Evidence of a Tdap shot once; 10 years after that, a Tetanus or Td booster is required.

Hepatitis B

Evidence of 3 dose series (Energix-B or Recombivax HB) OR 2 dose series (Heplisav-B given on or after 18 years of age) OR positive titer are acceptable.

If your titer is equivocal or not immune, you must submit evidence of a Hepatitis B booster.

*Students who have not completed the full series, but have documented proof of starting the Hep B vaccination series will be allowed to matriculate. Students without a full Hep B vaccination series must contact the Institute’s Office of Compliance.

MMR

Evidence of 2 doses or positive titer results for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella.

If any titer is equivocal or not immune, you must submit evidence of an MMR booster.

Varicella

Evidence of 2 doses OR primary care provider verification of the disease (month/year) or positive titer results.

If your titer is equivocal or not immune, you must submit evidence of a Varicella booster.

Meningococcal

For all students 21 years of age or younger upon the start of your academic program, submit evidence of 1 dose of MenACWY (formerly MCV4)

The dose of MenACWY vaccine must have been received on or after the student’s 16th birthday. Doses received at younger ages do not count towards this requirement.

Students may decline MenACWY vaccine after they have read and signed the MDPH Meningococcal Information and Waiver Form.

For Programs Without a Clinical Component:

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

School of Nursing

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis vaccine)

Every 10 years.

Evidence of a Tdap shot once; 10 years after that, a Tetanus or Td booster is required.

Hepatitis B

Evidence of 3 dose series (Energix-B or Recombivax HB) OR 2 dose series (Heplisav-B given on or after 18 years of age) OR positive titer are acceptable.

If your titer is equivocal or not immune, you must submit evidence of a Hepatitis B booster.

MMR

Evidence of 2 doses or positive titer results for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella.

If any titer is equivocal or not immune, you must submit evidence of an MMR booster.

Varicella

Evidence of 2 doses OR primary care provider verification of the disease (month/year) or positive titer results.

If your titer is equivocal or not immune, you must submit evidence of a Varicella booster.

Meningococcal

For all students 21 years of age or younger upon the start of your academic program, submit evidence of 1 dose of MenACWY (formerly MCV4)

The dose of MenACWY vaccine must have been received on or after the student’s 16th birthday. Doses received at younger ages do not count towards this requirement.

Students may decline MenACWY vaccine after they have read and signed the MDPH Meningococcal Information and Waiver Form.

Out of Compliance Procedures

The Office of Compliance will inform the student's academic program that the student is suspended from participating in their current and/or upcoming clinical placements.
The Office of Compliance may contact the student to request an action plan for regaining "compliant" status, and inform student of escalation process if compliance is not achieved.

Students must submit any extension requests prior to the item's expiration, to be approved by the Office of Compliance.

Suspension of Access to D2L

If no action is taken by the non-compliant student, the Office of Compliance will send a notice to the academic program & student and may suspend the student's access to the Desire2Learn (D2L) learning management system.

Once a previously non-compliant student regains compliant status, their access to D2L* will be restored and their academic program will be contacted.

*Important: Institute hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Student access to D2L can only be returned during these hours.

In addition to the Out of Compliance Procedures listed above, students may also be subject to compliance policies and procedures specific to their academic program. Students are encouraged to review their Program Manual for information on additional compliance related items.

Students are expected to respond to emails from the Office of Compliance, even if they believe they are in compliance or have already addressed the area of non-compliance.

When requesting an extension, students must have a plan detailing how and when they will regain their compliant status within Complio. Extension requests will be reviewed and approved by the Office of Compliance, in collaboration with representatives from the appropriate departments/programs at the Institute.

If a student's extension request is accepted, a temporary status of "compliant" will be added to the student's account which will expire on the date referenced in the extension request.

If a student's extension request is not accepted, no changes will be made to their Complio account and they will be expected to comply with the requirements detailed in Complio.

Email Policy

Out of an abundance of consideration for the security of students' personal information, members of the Office of Compliance team will only correspond with individuals using their MGH Institute email addresses when discussing immunization and certification requirements.

Current Students: All current students must use their MGH Institute email addresses when communicating with the Office of Compliance regarding Immunization and Certification Requirements.

Incoming Students: For incoming students with questions prior to receiving an MGH Institute email address, the Office of Compliance team will respond to Complio-related questions via email, but ask that they call our office if they wish to discuss their health records.

If the Office of Compliance receives an email from a student's personal email address and the contents of the email either require us to reference a student's health information or the contents of the original inquiry contain health information, we will ask that the student re-send the message via their MGH Institute email address.