What is a School Physical? Here's a Checklist!
With the joys of summer come to an end, we shift into planning ahead for the next school year heading our way. You know what that means, it’s time for your children’s annual back-to-school physical and checkup. For many of us, going back to school may not look the same as we all face the effects of COVID-19. As we all continue to adjust to their new normal, we want to provide you some information on school physicals and what you can expect.
It is important to make sure that our children are reaching their individual milestones as they continue to grow and blossom to feel be able to feel their best all at the same time. During this visit we also make sure children are up-to-date on all their vaccinations and flu shots.
It is recommended by the CDC and department of health that a healthy child should visit their family doctor at least twice a year for a physical after turning the age of 5, if there aren’t any pre-existing medical conditions.
Why Are School Physicals Required?
Physicals are a great way to keep an eye on your children’s health and growth development. Children grow and change very rapidly over a short period of time. Annual visits help keep track of developmental changes in height, weight, and growth. We aim to focus on providing preventative care for our patients and their loved ones and encourage our community to lead a healthy lifestyle to avoid the occurrence of complications later in life.
It is always great to know what to expect during a physical so you can have a conversation with your child on what they can expect during the exam that is why we prepared a small checklist on the right for you to review at your leisure.
Not every visit requires a scary shot for immunizations and vaccines! That’s a relief! That’s one good news you can share with your child so they don’t come prepared with fear and allow they to have a calm and comfortable visit to their doctor. This carries on as a healthy relationship for the child when visiting his family physician to share personal changes as the child progresses in life. If the child is due for any certain vaccination/immunization, the physician will let the parent/legal guardian know and obtain permission before administering the shot.
If it may help, you may write down you top concerns and questions and bring them in with you so we may kindly address them so we can help you better understand how you can provide the best care for your child.
We ask that you let the provider know promptly of any changes since the child’s last visit or any new pertinent information that may be relevant including family history please be provided to the medical provider during this visit as well.
Requirements Checklist for School Physical
CDC has kindly provided back-to-school health checklist to help the community plan how to handle the transition back to school. They have structured together 3 different checklists based on your the method of teaching your school has adopted. For hybrid models, consisting of a combination of both in-person and virtual classes, you might be interested in viewing both in-person and virtual health and learning checklist.
We understand things may be confusing and are here for you, if you have any questions, give us a call today so we may be able to address your concerns and direct you to the right answer. As things develop we are too understanding and sharing as we learn. We will do our best to keep you updated on any developments as time proceeds.
