INSPECTION FOR CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 



This system has been described at length because the 

 principle underlying it is fundamental. If medical inspectors are 

 to do efficient work they must not be overburdened with complex 

 clerical work. The aim in every case must be the smallest possible 

 number of original entries. 



One commendable time-saving device which has been 

 adopted in some cities is that of having cards for different uses 

 in different colors so that the medical inspector can put his hand 

 on the card he wants without a moment's delay. Utica and 

 Syracuse, New York, have adopted this plan. Thus, in Utica the 

 physical record card is white; the notice to parents of physical 

 defects, salmon colored; the exclusion card, buff; the card of 

 directions for ridding the hair of vermin, printed in English, is pink ; 

 in Italian, cherry color. The room record of pupils excluded and 

 re-admitted is lavender. 



In a number of cities it has been found necessary to have 

 some of the cards that go to parents printed in several different 

 languages. 



One feature which nearly all American systems of medical 

 inspection have in common is the plan of supplying printed 

 directions for ridding the hair of vermin. One of the best of these 

 is that followed in Everett, Massachusetts, where the pupil is not 

 only instructed as to treatment, but is furnished with a druggist's 

 prescription for the material required. This plan is adopted not 

 only for cases of pediculosis (lice), but for other common com- 

 plaints, such as impetigo contagiosa, ringworm, and scabies. The 

 forms used are reproduced on pages 28 and 29. 



CO-OPERATION OF THE TEACHER 



Experience has demonstrated that the highest efficiency in, 

 medical inspection can be secured only through the constant 

 co-operation of the teachers. In the matter of detecting cases of 

 contagious disease, the best results are secured by a compromise 

 between the system of relying entirely upon the teacher for detect- 

 ing symptoms of disease and that of insisting that the physician 

 alone shall make the inspection. It is the verdict of experience 

 that three general propositions hold true: 



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