liberal Nurses Feel “invisible” as National Campaign Downplays Their Role in Flu Vaccinations
PARIS – A national health insurance campaign urging citizens to “Talk to your doctor” about flu vaccinations is sparking frustration among liberal nurses across France, who say the messaging overlooks their critical role in providing accessible healthcare, especially for at-home vaccinations. The campaign, spearheaded by the Cnam (National Health Insurance Fund), has been met with criticism for seemingly diminishing the contributions of nurses who are increasingly on the front lines of preventative care.
Olivier Deneuve, departmental president of the national Federation of Nurses (FNI), expressed disbelief upon seeing the campaign poster intended for display in medical offices. “This is the one that we must put up in our offices when we certainly know that doctors no longer have time to vaccinate. It is the nurses who are on the front line,” he stated. The concern stems from a growing trend where patients, unable to store vaccines themselves, opt for immediate vaccination at pharmacies after receiving a prescription from their nurse, rather than scheduling a follow-up appointment.
This situation creates a financial hardship for nurses, who are responsible for the initial prescription but receive no compensation when patients choose pharmacy-administered vaccinations. “It is not them that I blame but the system,” Deneuve explained. “When patients have to go to their homes to buy their vaccine,they often have the injection done in the pharmacy,which is understandable.But, in these cases, even if we are the prescribers, we made the prescription, we are not paid.”
The Cnam poster, Deneuve added, feels like “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” Liberal nurses are uniquely positioned to provide vaccinations in patients’ homes – a service doctors are often unable to offer – and the campaign’s focus on physicians undermines their specialized skill set. The FNI argues that the current interaction strategy fails to recognize the vital role nurses play in increasing vaccination rates and protecting public health, particularly as winter approaches and the risk of influenza rises.
