PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS 



constantly kept up to date, and frequently referred to as an aid 

 in reaching decisions affecting the child's welfare. It does no 

 good to have a record on a card filed away in the principal's office 

 or in the office of the board of health, to the effect that Willie 

 is stone deaf in the right ear, if the teacher knows nothing of his 

 defect and still has Willie seated in the back left-hand corner of the 

 room. Moreover, the records must follow the child from room to 

 room and, in case of transfer, from school to school, for otherwise 

 much of the information obtained is soon rendered useless. 



These are some of the reasons why systems for conducting 

 physical examinations constitute entirely different problems from 

 systems of medical inspection which aim only at the detection of 

 cases of contagious disease. The latter sort of work can quite 

 satisfactorily be handled by representatives of the board of health, 

 while systems for conducting physical examinations, if they are 

 permanently to succeed, must have the active co-operation of the 

 educational authorities. 



Few cities have developed record systems which satisfactorily 

 fulfill the requirements outlined above. A fairly well devised card 

 for keeping the individual record of physical examinations is that 

 in use in the Chicago schools. It is reproduced on page 54. This 

 card measures 4x6 inches and has spaces which provide for eight 

 annual examinations. On the reverse side are spaces for "diag- 

 nosis" and "treatment received" with dates. 



A somewhat more complete record is the one kept in the 

 public schools of Pasadena, California. This card, shown on page 

 55, has the added advantage of providing spaces for the recording 

 of data by the teacher as well as by the physician. This feature 

 insures the intimate interest of the class room teacher in the work 

 and in the records. The reverse of the Pasadena card has spaces 

 designed to record the dates of physical examinations, and the 

 dates and results of visits made by the school nurse to the pupil's 

 home. 



A still more complete record is called for by the card used in 

 Berkeley, California, which provides on its face for the data of the 

 physical examinations, and on its reverse has spaces for keeping 

 the scholarship record. This card, face and reverse, is given on 

 pages 56 and 57. 



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