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AAP: School physicians, nurses valuable resources for well-being of children
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Every school district should have a school physician and every school building a school nurse, and pediatricians should advocate for these positions in their local school districts, according to a recently released AAP policy statement.
Ideally, a school physician should be board-certified in pediatrics or a physician with an expertise in pediatrics, according to the statement, issued by the AAP’s Council on School Health.
In the statement, the council said community pediatricians should work in tandem with school health professionals for the overall health of the district’s children and should also consider becoming the school’s physician.
A school physician can enhance student achievement by encouraging physical activity and better nutrition. They can also improve student attendance by assisting in managing chronic medical conditions, such as asthma and diabetes, and paying attention to chronic school absenteeism, according to the statement. A school physician can facilitate integration of a medical home’s goals for children with special health care needs into the school setting and can potentially decrease district liability and improve safety by developing sound protocols to manage such things as emergencies, as well as concussions and climate extremes. In some cases, a school physician can actually save a district enough money to pay for the physician’s fair compensation by improving attendance.
The statement encouraged school physicians and community pediatricians to work together to develop sound health policies with school administrators and boards of education.
“Having a school physician in every school district and a school nurse in every school building is a wonderful way to develop effective alliances among the medical home, the educational home and the family home,” Cynthia DiLaura Devore, MD, chair of the AAP’s School Health Committee, told Infectious Diseases in Children. “A school physician enhances the important integration of health and education for all children within the school setting and especially assists children with special health care needs by furthering the medical home’s goals.”
Cynthia DiLaura Devore, MD, who is the chair of the AAP’s School Health Committee, can be reached at cindydevore@gmail.com.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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