Each student athlete who wishes to participate on a high school athletic team must have a physical exam within 365 days prior to the first day of practice. Sport Physicals are only valid for one year. Sport Physicals may be performed by the student's medical provider ( MD, DO, APN, PA ) or the school physician.
For the annual sport physical examination, we strongly advocate that all students be seen by their medical provider to foster an ongoing provider/patient relationship, to provide opportunities for specialist referrals, laboratory testing and assessment of vaccination status. However, since seeing a medical provider is not always possible, we will offer sport physical exams by our school physician periodically throughout the year to accommodate the need for this annual exam. If any student will see his or her medical provider for this annual sport physical, then there is no real need or reason to participate in the sport physical opportunity by the school physician. One annual sport physical examination is clearly sufficient.
Documents to be submitted annually to the school nurse are as follows:
- Health History Questionnaire; Part A (to be completed and signed by parent)
- Physical Evaluation Form; Part B (to be completed, signed, stamped and dated by medical provider)
- MLHS Athletic Emergency Card (to be completed and signed by parent)
- MLHS Training Rules (to be read, dated and signed by parent and student)
- NJSIAA Concussion Policy Acknowledgment Form (to be read and signed by both parent and student)
Sport Physicals must be recorded on the latest version (March 2010) of the New Jersey
Department of Education approved forms. No other physical examination forms will be accepted.
The examining provider must complete all sections of the physical, including the date of the actual exam. All physical forms must be stamped with the Physician/Provider stamp. Sport physicals submitted with incomplete information will be returned to the parent for completion by the physician/provider. All submitted physicals are reviewed by the school nurse and parents will be notified in writing if the athlete is not approved for participation.
The annual targeted deadline for submission of paperwork is as follows:
- Fall Sports: August 1st (or prior to first day of practice for fall sports)
- Winter Sports: November 1st (or prior to first day of practice for winter sports)
- Spring Sports: February 1st (or prior to first day of practice for spring sports)
No student athlete will be allowed to practice or participate in any sport without a current, valid physical exam on file in the MLHS Health Office. Paperwork packets are always available during the summer months in the MLHS Main Office and throughout the school year in the MLHS Health Office or may downloaded from this school district web site.
Baseline ImPACT Concussion Testing:
All incoming freshmen and any other new student athlete transferring into the district who is planning to participate in a sport, will need to have baseline ImPACT Concussion Testing before the first day of practice. All student athletes will have repeat ImPACT baseline testing every two years. In most cases that would fall before the 11th grade sport seasons. Individual and team athletes will be notified by the athletic trainer of appointment days and times.
Medical Update Process:
An annual sport physical needs to be submitted to the High School Nurse's Office. A medical update needs to be completed by the parent/guardian for each subsequent sport season during the school year after the annual physical was submitted. This medical update is in fact, an update of the student's health history or status since the last medical/physical exam. Either a sport physical or a medical update needs to be submitted within 60 days of the first practice session for every sport season whenever a student athlete intends to participate in a high school sport.
The Medical Update sport paperwork packet consists of the following documents:
- MLHS Athletic Emergency Card (to be completed and signed by parent)
- MLHS Medical Update (to be completed and signed by parent)
- MLHS Training Rules (to be read, singed and dated by both parent and athlete)
- NJSIAA Concussion Policy Acknowledgment Form (to be read, signed and dated by both parent and athlete)
Injuries and/or Major Illnesses and Medical Clearance:
If a student athlete suffers an injury or major illness, which requires medical care and treatment by a healthcare provider, they will need to be medically cleared by their healthcare provider to resume competitive sports. A simple statement of medical clearance should be provided to the MLHS Health Office. Any modifications or restrictions for activity should be clearly stated by the healthcare provider.
