School Physical Exam Urgent Care in Chicopee, MA

A school physical is an annual physical exam that all students should have prior to starting the new school year. People of all ages should be getting an annual physical exam through their primary care physician or family doctor. When it comes to school-aged kids, the physical exam can happen at any point during the year, but it is often added to the back-to-school checklist to ensure kids are in good health and up-to-date on any vaccinations prior to starting a new school year.

As kids get older, the exam may change slightly to accommodate changes happening in their bodies, particularly as they near puberty. A physical exam includes common checks such as height, weight, blood pressure, testing the reflexes, and listening to the heart and lungs. The exam itself will usually only take 20-30 minutes and provides the child and parent an opportunity to ask the doctor about any health concerns that they may have. It also gives the doctor the opportunity to do any screenings for early signs of medical conditions that can be physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral.

An annual physical exam and a school physical are one and the same. Depending on where you live and your child’s overall health and wellbeing, as well as their participation in sports, they may be required to have an exam on annual basis or only every other year.

The physical exam gives the child and parents a chance to talk to the doctor about any health concerns they have and gives the doctor the ability to check the child’s growth and development across their physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral health. The physical exam is also an opportunity to ensure that the student is up to date on all current immunizations, some of which may be required to attend school. For healthy children without existing medical conditions that require ongoing treatment and monitoring, the annual physical exam may be the only visit they make to their doctor in a year.

Throughout their life, children spend many hours at school, under the care and supervision of a variety of teachers and school support staff. It is important for the school to know if their students have any ongoing medical conditions that may require medication to be taken during school hours or that need to be taken into consideration should the student become ill or injured during school hours.

Student records should be updated at the beginning of each school year, with updated medical information on the student. Whether the school requires proof of the physical exam at the start of the school year, is up to the individual school and school board. However, this is a good opportunity for parents to ensure that their child is up to date on any necessary and optional immunizations and that they have no undiagnosed medical conditions. For children who play sports through school, a sports physical will be needed every year to ensure the child is in good health to participate.

Your child’s physical exam will take between 20 and 30 minutes and will be a conversation between you, as the parent, your child, and the doctor about your child’s overall health and wellbeing. Depending on your child’s age, you may be in the room with them during their physical, or you may have to wait in the office waiting area. Your child’s doctor will perform a series of standard tests, including measuring their height and weight, as well as checking their blood pressure, lung and heart function, reflexes, and a check on the ears, eyes, nose, throat, and lymph nodes.

Your child’s doctor may order a series of lab tests, usually blood and urine tests, to ensure that there are no hidden issues with your child’s heath. If you need a physical exam for your child to go back to school, Priority Urgent Care and Walk-In Medical Practice provides school physical exams on a walk-in basis, no appointment is needed. We can transfer the results back to your family doctor or pediatrician as well so that they have them included in your child’s health records. We serve patients from Chicopee MA, Springfield MA, Ludlow MA, Westfield MA, Holyoke MA, Southwick MA, Wilbraham MA, and BEYOND!