Health Forms

[Flyingfish]

All of this talk about scouting urban legends (my CO in the fleet called anything done w/o a manual "tribal" knowledge) had an effect on me at the troop meeting last night. A new boy is coming on a trip and I remarked that he needed to have a completed class 1 form. One of the ASM's said he needed the class 3. He made it sound like the boys all needed class 3's in order to participate in any outings. Since the class 3 requires a physical, would each boy need a physical before they could come on a camping trip?

 

The classes seem to hinge on two key points: Duration and level of activity.

 

For the record, the upcoming trip is a whitewater trip in a fairly remote area.

 

Your thoughts oh great sages of scouting?

[John-in-KC]

From the forms themselves:

 

BSA Class 3 Physical:

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34412.pdf

"All Class 3 activities require a health examination within the past 12 months by a licensed health-care practitioner.* This includes youth and adult members participating in high-adventure activities, athletic competition, and world jamborees. Annually, this form is to be used by adults 40 years of age or older for all activities requiring a physical examination and applies to all Wood Badge participants/staff regardless of age."

 

BSA Class 2 Physical:

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34414.pdf'>http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34414.pdf

"Class 2 (required once every 36 months for all participants under 40 years of age). Activity: Resident camp or any other activity such as backpacking, tour camping, or recreational sports involving events lasting longer than 72 consecutive hours, with level of activity similar to that at home or school. Medical care is readily available."

 

BSA Class 1 health information:

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34414.pdf

"Class 1 (update annually for all participants). Activity: Day camp, overnight hike, or other programs not exceeding 72 hours, with level of activity similar to that of home or school. Medical care is readily available. Current personal health and medical summary (history) is attested by parents to be accurate. This form is filled out by all participants and is on file for easy reference."

 

Questions to be asked:

 

- Over 40? Class 3 mandatory annually.

- Away from readily available healthcare? Class 3 indicated.

- High Adventure activity? Class 3 required.

- Philmont backcountry? THEIR OWN CLASS 3 form... in fact it is more restrictive than the standard Class 3.

- World Jamboree? There's a specialized Class 3.

- Wood Badge Staffer or participant? Class 3 required.

 

From how you describe your coming activity, if I were the SM on the ground, I'd require all to have Class 3.

[ScoutNut]

A Class 1 health form should now accompany every Youth Application. Your Troop should have the new boy's Class 1 in file.

 

There is a big difference between a regular camping trip and a whitewater trip in a remote area.

 

From the BSA Class 1 & 2 health forms -

 

Class 1 (update annually for all participants). Activity: Day camp, overnight hike, or other programs not exceeding 72 hours, with LEVEL OF ACTIVITY SIMILAR TO THAT AT HOME OR SCHOOL. MEDICAL CARE IS READILY AVAILABLE. Current personal health and medical summary (history) is attested by parents to be accurate. This form is filled out by all participants and is on file for easy reference.

 

Class 2 (required once every 36 months for all participants under 40 years of age). Activity: Resident camp or any other

activity such as backpacking, tour camping, or recreational sports involving events lasting longer than 72 consecutive hours, with LEVEL OF ACTIVITY SIMILAR TO THAT AT HOME OR SCHOOL. MEDICAL CARE IS READILY AVAILABLE.

 

From the BSA Class 3 health form -

 

All Class 3 activities require a health examination within the past 12 months by a licensed health-care practitioner. This includes youth and adult members participating in HIGH-ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES, athletic competition, and world jamborees.

 

I don't see any "urban ledgends" here. For a weekend of car camping a Class 1 would be fine. This is clearly a High-Adventure type of activity that would require a Class 3 medical form.

 

[Lisabob]

I know that scheduling a physical and maneuvering the crazy rules governing insurance coverage of physicals are often the sticking points when it comes to getting class 3 forms filled out.

 

It might be worth pointing out to your new scout's parents that many doctor's offices will simply fill out such forms on the basis of a past physical, as long as the physical took place within the last 12 months and there are no underlying medical issues. Of course not all doctors will do this, but many will because they also understand the insurance rules (once a year! once every two years! only on the 5th Monday of the month under a full moon! etc) that complicate scheduling physicals for school, sports, scouting, and other activities.

 

Re: whether you need class 3s? I think if I were the SM and we had a troop whitewater trip planned I would be uncomfortable with only a class 1 on file, based on the brief description of the trip you provided above. But at the BSA summer camp we attended this year, they ran a 1-day whitewater excursion. The camp required only a class 1 in order for boys to do day trips on the river. However, they did require parental waivers (provided by the rafting outfitter) indicating an understanding/acceptance of the potential risks of whitewater rafting.

 

 

[Ohio_Scouter]

Flying Fish,

 

IMHO, have the scouts/scouters all get class 3 forms, and then they can do just about any activity without worry.

 

You probably already know this, but also ask your scouters to get certified in First Aid, CPR/AED, Safety Afloat/Safe Swim Defense, and Climb On Safely. If you plan to do Philmont, have a couple of them get certified in Wilderness First-Aid, too. It'll pay off later on.

[Beavah]

Yah, da medical form thing is somethin' I wish national would clean up, eh? The forms are somewhat incomplete in terms of relevant health history, and the whole Class 1/2/3 thing gets a bit silly. The only difference between a Class 2 and Class 3 form is that younger folks as well as us old timers need a physical within the past year. (Yah, and da fact that the Class 3 form is in microfiche type font which is a bear to read if you're an old critter!).

 

The whole thing could be simplified by requirin' a health history/permission slip every year, and a copy of the most recent physical with physician statement on activity limitations or special protocols.

 

B

 

[John-in-KC]

My insurance covers an annual physical. I wish I knew how common that was these days.

 

I take advantage of it

[Pack212Scouter]

Most insurance policies cover annual physicals only for those over 40 or with accompanying medical conditions. For others it's usually every 3 years. Some are more often, but this is pretty norm I think. Of course that doesn't help the others without insurance or the boys.(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)

[John-in-KC]

Mine covered an annual for each person I paid premiums for...