The school physical is more than just a routine doctor’s appointment. It’s a great way to get your child’s school year off to a healthy start. School physicals, or well-child exams, offer a golden opportunity to share information and listen to your child. They also allow your physician to evaluate your child’s growth and development, screen for common childhood conditions, and make sure their immunizations are up to date.
Annual or school physicals should be more than checking off a form
You can get a form checked off, or you can get a valuable check-up. Let your trusted pediatric and sports medicine physician share some key tips on maximizing your child’s health with an annual school physical.
Your trusted provider knows your child and your family, and if they happen to forget anything (happens to the best of us), there can be a review of past medical records. Growth charts can show if there’s been too little or too much growth. Immunization records are there for review. Your provider might know things about you that you may forget or not want to admit. For example, did you check “no history of asthma” on a long checklist, yet your record shows that asthma flare-up from a few years ago?
Knowing about the past asthma is a good thing that allows better chances to make medical recommendations to get things under control. There have been many times that making some minor tweaks in asthma care have kept kids out of emergency rooms, more consistently in school, and doing better with sports. However, if your provider doesn’t know about you and your asthma, then they can’t offer the same level of help.
These are the true benefits of going to a provider who knows you and your history.
Schedule early and come prepared
Many schools want physicals done before registration (especially for transitional kindergarten, 1st grade, middle school and high school) or the start of summer sports practices and competitions.
The sooner you call to schedule your physical, the better chance of getting a preferred appointment time and having all necessary items ready for those registration deadlines.
Sitting down with your child and completing questions and forms ahead of the visit can maximize your office visit. While parents tend to know more about past medical history, the child often is more aware of any current concerns.
Whether or not there are question forms to fill out, do not hesitate to bring in a list of your own questions to share during the visit.
What to expect at the visit
Walking a child through the visit, especially younger kids, can make the physical day a bit easier. Here are some tips:
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- Inform them that they will be measured for height and weight, may have their arm squeezed for a blood pressure reading, and will be checked to see if they can see and hear.
- They might need to change into a special gown for the visit.
- Kids often will ask about shots. Here is where honesty tends to work best. If you know the child is due for vaccines, gently inform them as “surprise” vaccines at the end of a visit tend to scare kids more not just at the annual physical, but then for future visits as well.
- Let older children (late elementary and onward) know that they might get time alone without a parent in the room to discuss certain health topics including emotional health and personal safety.
Special needs
If your child has a more chronic health condition (such as asthma or diabetes), bring in a list of medications and pharmacies for refills along with any action plan forms from schools. It is much easier to fill those out and do refills during the in-person visit.
Anticipating bigger dividends from the annual school physical
Using our experience with children of all ages, every time we get to sit down with a family is a chance to provide valuable education. Medical types call this focus on illness injury prevention and risk reduction “anticipatory guidance.” Children and families can look at it as an investment in not only fixing current problems but also trying to reduce future issues. Yes, comprehensive annual school physicals take more time, but investing in a visit with your trusted medical provider can pay off big dividends.
