Summer is in full swing, and kids are enjoying their annual vacation. With this break from their regular school activity schedule, you have some free time to check some important back-to-school boxes before school starts up again.
At Forest Urgent Care, Dr. Ping Wong and Dr. Waiho Lum provide a variety of physicals, including school and sports physicals, that meet all requirements. If your child needs a physical, now’s the time to get that done so you have one less thing to worry about before school goes back into session.
Let’s first review which students need a general health physical before school. This includes:
Returning students need a health examination every two years, while kids who participate in sports need a physical every year.
School physicals are designed to make sure that your child’s health is sufficient for the learning environment. Areas of your child’s health that we evaluate include:
Another key part of a school physical is to make sure kids are up to date on their vaccination schedules, which keeps everyone safe inside the school system.
The examination is important for catching any issue that might interfere with learning, such as vision or hearing difficulties.
When it comes to sports physicals, also called preparticipation physical evaluations, our goal is to make sure that your child can participate safely in their activity of choice.
If your child needs a sports physical, please make sure that you have the right forms as some schools may require additional information depending upon the sport. For example, if your child wants to participate in contact sports, some schools may require a more extensive evaluation.
For New York State public schools, the school physical exam and interscholastic sports physical exam are the same. If your child is in the public school system, they only need the one physical, which covers both bases.
If your child participates in club sports or they go to a private school, however, the sports physical may vary somewhat.
Rest assured, the Forest Urgent Care team works with you to make sure that your child has everything they need to continue their athletic life in school.
While we offer walk-in services to our community, it’s great to schedule things like school physicals so you can carve out an allotted time for this important health visit and ensure you have any needed paperwork.
To get that ball rolling so you can cross one more thing off your back-to-school list, please contact us at our clinic in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, to schedule your child’s school physical. We’re open seven days a week.
