School Nurse: Guide to Creating Student Medical For for Back to School

On creating student medical forms

What are student medical forms for back to school? Any registered nurse, who has not had training as a school nurse might wonder about this.

Student medical forms for back to school can include any number of different forms that are needed and used by school nurses, working in school health offices. Since schools and school systems can vary and student scenarios are often unique, the forms that are needed may differ.

Should school nurses have to create student medical forms? School nurses should not have to create student medical forms, but at times, they may have no choice other than to become creative, when it comes to the different kinds of student medical forms needed in school settings.

Are student medical forms not standardized? It appears that there are a number of standardized student medical forms for schools, but student medical forms are not standardized everywhere around the globe.

Are student medical forms not provided by the schools? Ideally, yes, but unfortunately, that may not always be the case. Sometimes there are no student medical forms available. Perhaps the last school nurse or whoever was responsible for ordering them, did not realize that they had to be ordered. When school has already started, is may be too late to order them. The forms may not be available either, as the availability of student medical forms will be determined to some extent by the school in question and its location, with respect to country and school region.

For the majority of well-structured and well-organized school systems, located in larger cities, every kind of student medical form needed is probably available, either at the school or through the school system. At the same time, even these forms may not be available, when they are needed.

In this kind of a setting, a new school nurse may need to familiarize herself with the student medical forms that are on file in the school nurse's office, the school office or are available in the school system.

In second and third world countries or remote areas, if student medical forms are not available or provided by the school or school system, it may be possible to download the forms from the Internet and print out copies.

In remote areas where there is no Internet access, the school nurse may need to rely on different kinds of student medical forms that used previously by the school. The school nurse may be able to create new ones by revising older models or samples.

Sometimes a new, student medical form has to created by a school nurse. That can present a challenge to a new school nurse, particularly when there are no previous student medical forms that can be used as models.

Registered nurses, certified to work in school settings, may be familiar with different kinds of forms. If not, research into student medical forms may be needed. It is possible to create an original, student medical form that can be used as a model, but it may take a bit of ingenuity on the part of the school nurse.

If school systems have typical, standardized, student medical forms, which many do, it is just a matter of finding an original copy or at least a good copy of the forms that are required and printing or generating extra copies with a photocopier.

As a school nurse who is new to a school or school system, it is usually a good idea to check all of the school nurse office files, as well as the school office for any current, student medical forms that are available or ones that have been used previously. There may also be a school manual that lists or depicts all of the necessary school medical forms. Even if they are outdated, they may contain the appropriate information needed on the forms, but that should be checked out.

If the school is relatively modern and has a computer system, there may be templates that are available, that can be used to generate or print out new student medical forms, but it is a good idea to ascertain whether the templates need to be updated, for the current school year.

Where there are a lot of students in a school, large numbers of student medical forms may be needed immediately, so it is important to have extras forms on hand, at all times. It is not always going to be convenient or possible to print out forms on demand. Be prepared for unanticipated student enrollment.

A list of the different student medical forms will include ones that are must be signed by the student's doctor, those that need to be signed by the student's doctor and the parents, forms that require only the parent's signatures and others that need both the parent's and the teacher's signatures. In some schools, there may be student medical forms that only need to be signed by the students, depending upon their age.

It is always important to know who has to sign which medical form, as there may be legal implications. 

Anything that requires a prescription must have a physician's signature. Other medications, treatments and procedures should be authorized by a physician. Parental or guardian consent is important.

In a pinch, creating student medical forms is not that difficult.

Each form should state exactly what kind of form it is and its designated purpose. There should be information about the school, namely the name, address, telephone and e-mail address of the school. It should have the student information as name, address and phone number, as well of date of birth and social security (social insurance number). An e-mail address may prove to be of value. It should state who has to sign the document. There should be a place for the appropriate signatures. The date when the document is signed is important too.

The content of the rest of the form may vary to some degree, depending upon what the form is being used for and by whom.

Standardized, student medical forms request the following information in various formats: physical examination/medical history, sports physical/activity participation, vaccination/immunization record, administration of medication/self-administration of medication, physician's authorization for specialized care, treatment or procedures, health and parent/guardian contact information, and release of personal information/confidentiality

A collection of school nurse/school health office, student medical forms may be obtained from the national schoolforms.com web site:

http://www.nationalschoolforms.com/index.php?option=com_ixxocart&Itemid=11&p=catalog&parent=14&pg=1

The school nurse may order or create various forms for health office visits, nurse referral, a note from the nurse, early dismissal pass, injury report, emergency information record and nurse visitation pass. The school nurse may create or print out forms that serve as a daily log of student visits.

While it seems that school nurses are inundated with student medical forms, being well organized in the school health office will save time for the school nurse, teachers, parents and students. Correct filing of student medical forms is always important and keeping student medical forms up to date is always a good idea.

School nurse, you are a creative person. If you do not have what you need in terms of student medical forms, use your ingenuity and create a new model that others can use also.