The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1914-12-15
the health. strength and vitality Of the

!. our school system.
Medical inspection does accomplis
: much in the way of preventive med
1 cine, more sanitary and hygienic habit
> and ways of living, lessening of commu
nicable and contagious disease, elevs
5 ton of scholarship because of NOR
healthy conditions and corrections of dc
: fects. There should be distinct rails
ing of the moral tone, as minds ar
clean when associated with clean sount
, bodies. There should be Iessening O
. communicable and contagious diseases
There should be distinct advance il
. scholarship grade for age. The specif
objects of medical inspection are: De
lection and correction of physical de
fects; detection and exclusion Of cases o
parasitic and contagious disease; main
tenance Of good, hygienic conditions il
the schools; diagnosis and treatment O
cases of mental deficiency; correlation O
medicine and pedagogy in order to pro
duce the maximum of efficiency in the
school system, consistent with the pre-
servation Of health.
Medical inspection fails to meet the
desired results for many reasons, all OF
which are remediable and durable.
Some of them are: Youth of subject and
! tremendous scope thereof; failure to re-
cognize it as speciality; failure to en-
force laws relating thereto; failure of the
right sort of medical men to become in
terested therein; failure of school author
tiles to realize its Importance and adj
vantages; failure of parents to appreciate
the advantage to the community in gem
eral and their child in particular; failure
to properly remunerate those engaged
in the work; failure to recognize the
close relation to-day existing between
the problem of the perfectives and our
public school system: lack of co-opera-
ton on the part of parents, school officials
teachers and pupils; ignorance of the
subject.
DR.. Faulkner spoke on several of the
ideas represented in the above suggest
ions. In some districts where medical
inspector has been employed the results
obtained have more than paid his salary,
being secured by better and more con-
tinuous attendance at school, and closer
application to studies. Some parents
have objected to reports being sent to
them by the medical inspector. One
case cited was that of parent who re-
sented the report that a childs teeth
were in very bad condition. The parent
said: 1--WE have family physician who
looks after such matters Asked how
old the child was and receiving the an
swer that the age was Is, the inspector
inquired how long it had taken the
family physician to discover and report
what the medical inspector had done in
one day. In many instances opposition
to appoint medical inspector arose on
account of the cost. In one instance
DIR. Faulkner knew of township which,
when the law was adopted making such
appointment mandatory, designated a
member of the Board to call upo an
aged physician and asked him how small
salary he would accept for doing such
work as he was able to perform.
Medical inspectors should know the
school laws of the state and the rules of
the State Board of Education. They
should have grasp of the problems of
the educators and of the hygiene of teach
ing, and the demands of child life and
the limitations of children as to recep-
tivity. They should be able to work
with teachers and parents. There was
no doubt that large majority of physi-
clans who would undertake the work,
are wholly untitled for it, because they
know next to nothing of the ideals and
methods of modern education and they
are ignorant of their own ignorance.
What is needed is doctors of health who
will be more pleased to exhibit healthy,
well-developed children in bright, clean,
sanitary schoolrooms, than list of ply
steal or mental detectives, emphasis be-
ing on preventive rather than curative
measures. The question of full time
or part time inspector would seem to re-
quire some consideration as it is well
known what attention is given in any
business or profession to ''side line
1t is not fair to treat this great subject
as ''side line, " but rather as a speciality.
and prominent school men as well as
medical men have repeatedly insisted
upon this point. There cannot be any
question, from the standpoint of eff
cheney, of the advantage of full time
inspector over a general practitioner who
only has enough school work TO warrant
his treatment of it as ''side line. .
Occasions arise where his dual identity
is confusing and embarrassing, and
could, and frequently does, interfere
with his efficiency as medical inspector,
as the latter may antagonize his COM
petitor in the field of general practise.
In addition, the part time" inspector
is SO tied down to his dual work that he
has not the time to do the reading and
the study necessary to improve and
advance himself in the speciality of
medical inspection, nor the freedom of
movement which will permit his attend
ance upon conventions, councils OF
similar meetings where he may come in
contact with the leaders in his branch
and thus improve himself and broaden
his field.
Mental detectives" was spoken on at
length and the speaker felt that the
medical inspector should perfect himself
along that line. Right here came in the
question of having graduate nurse on
the list of officials, her duty being to do
follow up work." to look after cases
that have been reported by the inspector.
but DIR. Faulker did not think the time
had arrived for it to be proper or practic-
able to substitute nurse for a physician,
nor was he sure that it is time to compel
the employment of both. His ideas.on
the subject of the value of school nurse
were so pronounced that he had one en-
ployed at his own expense in the school
under his supervision.
Much of the opposition to engaging a
medical inspector comes from rural dis
tricts, the Boards of Education in those
districts, as well as many of the tax
payers. feeling that the conditions in the
country do not require inspection.
They contend that their children are
healthier and freer from contagion and
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