The school health team and school health physician: new role and operation

M. Kappelman, P. Roberts, R. Rinaldi and M. Cornblath

A new concept of school health redefines the school physician's role as dealing primarily with behavior and learning disorders in children. It is an on-site operation, using a multidisciplinary team of professionals. We outlined internal team operations, as well as modes of remediation. Many types of behavior and learning problems were seen by our school health team during the first year of operation. It is important to recognize the multiplicity of diagnoses on individual elementary school children, as well as the differentiation of early organics from late functional primary causes. We need to reassess the delivery of school health care. The expansion of school health to include the multidisciplinary team approach to behavior and learning problem is a primary priority. We suggest using outside medical agencies for periodic physical illness.