MEDICAL INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS 



from the annual reports as indicated in the table, whereas the 

 figures for school membership are those given in the report of the 

 United States commissioner of education for the corresponding 

 years, showing the total number of different pupils enrolled in the 

 day schools. The figures in the third column show the num- 

 ber of exclusions per thousand children enrolled. The significant 

 feature is that exclusions range all the way from 12 per thousand 

 in New York to 86 per thousand in Newark. 



SUMMARY. In order to render inspection for the detection 

 of contagious disease effective, the most important feature to be 

 striven after is the reduction of the machinery of administration 

 in order that the school physicians may devote the largest possible 

 amount of time and energy to actual inspection, and the smallest 

 to merely clerical details. 



Experience demonstrates that it is impracticable to have the 

 physicians inspect all the pupils every day, and it is equally clear 

 that complete inspection should be made occasionally. 



Where the work is done successfully and adequately the num- 

 ber of cases of contagious disease among the children is greatly 

 reduced, and the necessity for closing schools because of epidemics 

 is largely done away with. Exclusions on account of contagious 

 disease during the school year vary from about one in 100 to one 

 in 10 of the school membership. The lower figure is approached 

 only when school nurses are a part of the permanent corps of the 

 school medical department. 



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