I’m not sure how the system works in the US, but in Australia, you do not need to disclose your Hep B status as long as your work does not involve exposure-prone procedures (EPP). You might need to submit your immunization status before commencing work, but in Australia, you have the right not to disclose your Hep B status by providing a letter from your doctor stating that you are safe to work.
I am also a nurse working in the healthcare sector in Melbourne, and I have never had any issues declaring my Hep B status to my workplace. Regarding the Covid vaccine, I used to have concern when I received the first dose of the vaccine three years ago. However, after a thorough explanation from the physicians at the hospital, they stated that the risk of not being vaccinated and working in a high-risk setting outweighs the risks associated with the COVID vaccine.
Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t right away and others get it easy. I read in the USA, for every $10,000 you expect to earn, average recruitment is a month. So if you expect a $50-60k annual salary, it can take 5-6 months before landing a job.
You’re one of a kind sir tepy you give us hope and eagerness to focus in our career, if im allowed to ask you?.. can i/we apply in your hospital that you currently working in.?
Just to provide an update, I am now working as an RN in the top hospital in Canada.
I have informed them of my medical condition and submitted lab results, particularly the HBV DNA test, which indicates that my hepatitis B is inactive. There are no restrictions on my work.
I am planning to move to Australia since it is closer to my home country, and the weather is much better there. Will it be an issue when applying for RN registration and immigration to Australia?
Hi Jicjic,
It is great to hear from you again about your progress, knows things are going well for you so far. Thank you so much for your updates. For your next step of your life and career plan, i found a similar post as yours at our forum, hope you can find some helpful info there. All the best for you!
The link is as follows: Hepatitis B and Immigration/visa issues
Congratulations on your career progression and glad to hear about your plans to move to Australia! That’s fantastic news! As @Liz mentioned, there is an existing thread on this and there should not be a problem, but @tepy has encountered several issues in Australia regarding incomplete knowledge of people within the system.
@tepy, do you mind sharing some of your experiences so that others might avoid such issues?
Which university or college did you apply to because i contacted about 4 colleges in ontario and they said i was ineligible to be accepted in the nursing program
Im very passionate about the nursing career but colleges in canada aways give an excuse saying thier clinical placement sites will not accept me.
How do i challenge them
I am sorry to hear that. Which department did you contact? I used to contacted Mcmaster, and got response from their health screening department that"being an asymptomatic carrier of a blood borne pathogen (such as Hep B) should not prevent you from training as a nurse, attending placements at a clinical environment or registering with your college after graduation", and i believe this should apply to all the colleges in Ontario.
Congratulations on your career progression. I’m not sure if your question refers to AHPRA registration or the issue of working as a nurse with hepatitis B. Regarding applying for AHPRA registration, this is my third year renewing my registration, and I have never experienced any issues preventing me from getting or renewing it.
In terms of working in general, hepatitis B cannot prevent you from working as a nurse. However, you have to disclose your health status and provide a letter from your General Practitioner to your workplace before commencing your work. Unfortunately, there are very limited resources about visas and hepatitis B, but if you need support and advice, I would recommend reaching out to a migration agent or lawyer experienced with health issues to ensure they provide you with the right information.
You can contact HALC, as they can provide you with free legal advice regarding visas and hepatitis: About HALC or If you have any other inquiries or support, please feel free to reach out to LiverLine: LiverLine - LiverWELL
Thank you, Tepy! Did you disclose your health condition to AHPRA?
Here in Ontario, I had to complete a health declaration informing the College of Nurses of Ontario about my Hep B status and provide specialist notes before they allowed me to register.
Hello everyone,
I’m from Ghana. I was diagnosed with HBV In 2017 after my nursing school.l’m healthy.Liver is fine because I do labs every 3 months. I started practicing nursing for the past 3 years and I want to travel to Germany to work in a care home or a hospital but I’m afraid I will be refused visa or l won’t get any care home or hospital to work in at Germany because of my condition. l want to start my German language course this month but I’m still confused.
Thank you @ anonml am now Relieved and I will start my German course soon.thank you everyone am happy and blessed to be part of this wonderful community
I am truly grateful for this platform and the information it has provided me. I want to be a nurse, but was tested Hep B positive. when I received an offer from AU, I don’t know if I can receive a student visa or not. You guys give me information and confidence. After a mont of application, I’m pleased to share that I have successfully obtained my student visa and have enrolled in school.
Whatever questions you may have about student Visa application for nursing students with Hep, please feel free to reach out to me. I would be more than happy to share more about my ongoing studies and future career stories.
This has been an incredible journey, and I am excited to continue learning and growing. Thank you all for your support. I look forward to connecting with you further and being an active member of this wonderful community.
I’m accepted into a nursing program in the USA. I am cleared to start my coursework and clinical rotations. I’ve a note from my Dr stating I can complete clinical rotations without restrictions.
The nursing school is associated with a local hospital and most if not all clinical rotations are done at the local hospital.
However the nursing program let me know that each clinical site can refuse to accept me. So I will have to apply to each clinical rotation site in turn, show them my Dr’s note, and they will decide to accept me or not.
Is this the norm for nursing school in the USA? To me this seems discrimination according to the Hep B foundation agreement with the Justice Department and CDC guidelines from 2011.
Sorry to hear about this situation, sounds really precarious. I’m not sure about how this is handled and whether it’s a common thing. I’ve moved your post here in the hopes that one of the nursing students will be able to comment.
@chari.cohen, could you comment on the legalities of this? Maybe our American @HealthExperts could also give their feedback?
