SMT224 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 One of the medicals that was recently turned in for our upcoming summer camp describes a Scout with some significant medical issues and on more meds than I've ever seen anyone take. It is almost illegible and signed only by his mom (who apparently is an unemployed physician - or so she says). We are a bit concerned about his issues in the first place, but are there any legal issues with his medical signed only by his mom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolesrule Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Did she sign it as a doctor, as a mom, or both? You could always ask for a copy of her medical license, in case anyone has issues.(This message has been edited by nolesrule) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisabob Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Yes I guess you could ask for her license but that's a pretty aggressive move. Is there a reason you doubt her claim to being a physician? More to the point - you can't read it. Go back and explain to her that an illegible form does little good in a case where the info might be needed. Surely, as a doctor, she's aware of the potential for medical errors to occur in such situations. Or is the issue that dad hasn't signed the form? What do you do with single parent families then? Is this boy's dad even in the picture? If it is a divorce situation, does mom have custody? If dad is absent and/or mom has custody then I don't think you can challenge the fact that only mom signed the form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdlscouting Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I assume the "Only Mom" refers to the lack of a Dr's Signature, not lack of a Dad's signnature. At an rate, if the medical situation is that complex, it might be worth a personal phone call to the mom, just to make sure you are equipped to handle the scout's needs, from a safety POV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewASM Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I can only speak to NY, but you should be able to find out if she is licensed as a physician in your state on the internet. Many states have online listings of professional licenses. At least you would know if her license is current and valid in your state. I must agree that if anything is illegible, you would be prudent to ask for clarification from this or any other child. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutNut Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 If you can not read the information, you can request she fill out the form online - http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34605_Letter.pdf And then email it to you. I would ask her to provide as much information about his conditions and medications as possible so that the camp staff can be prepared. I don't think you can ask for a copy of her medical license. It is not required of any other medical professional. As long as she has signed the forms as BOTH parent/guardian and health care provider (2 separate places and 2 separate signatures), you should be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle92 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 yes it's very easy to verify is someone is a licensed physician. PM me with the state, and I'll get the link for you. Legibility is critical, so if it's illegible, get her to fill it out online. Ansd eys if the socut has a complex med. history, talk to ehr asap to insure the proper attention if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutldr Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Since this is a summer camp physical, I would let the Camp Medical Director worry about it. This is not a unit leader problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle92 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 SctLdr, I would hate for a scout to be sent home b/c of a medical from problem or have to pay for a physcial out of pocket at a local clinic that the camp made prior arrangements with. Yes I've seen both happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GernBlansten Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Something is wrong here. You have a mother who is claiming to be a physician, who has a child with serious medical issues, illegibly filling out a medical form so other adults can care for her child. Color me skeptical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evmori Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I'm with Gern on this one. Granted no one can read a doctors writing but the basic information should be legible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SctDad Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I can see some issues that are coming up with this scout and his mother. 1. Cannot read the form. In the 12 years I have spent in the medical field I have realized one thing. You can never read a dr's handwriting without a degree in ancient hyrogliphics (sp). But time and exp. not to mention knowing key points to look for helps. FOr this, I would simply ask that she fill out the PDF version. Not to mention it will be easier for her to update in the future. 2. Medical License: If there is a genuine concern about the validity of the statment that she is a physician, put it to her this way. The camp staff will probably flag his record seeing the matching signatures. Could you please include either a copy of your MD card or at least you license number. That way we are not forced to bring him back. As a physician she should understand this and there should be no issue. 3. Check on the custody issue. Just to cover your bases. You do not want to take the boy to camp and have an angry parent bringing up charges. There is just too much that can go wrong. If there is no custody issue, just have dad sign the parent part and her sign the physician. And most of all explain to her that this is not a witch hunt against her (if she is being honest), that you are just trying make sure that there are not problems when you get to camp. Any reasonable parent should understand this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutldr Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Yes, I would hate for that to happen, too. But I think we are jumping to conclusions here. I would insist that the form be legible. That's the limit of your responsibility. Are you also checking the medical licenses of the doctors who signed all the other forms??? Let's get real here. A parent-physician who treats their own family may not be too smart...but I don't think it's illegal or unethical. Perhaps ask her to accompany the unit to camp for check-in (ask her to help drive). Then if there are any questions, she's right there. The original question was "are there any legal issues with his medical signed only by his mom?" The answer is "not for the unit." The "legal issues" belong to the mom. Volscouter, you out there?(This message has been edited by scoutldr) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisabob Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I'm with scoutldr and I'm not. From how many of your other parents do you demand proof of professional certification? Have you personally seen your kid's teacher's license? Are you absolutely certain that guy who claims to be a lawyer actually passed the bar exam? Are you sure you don't have a "Joe the Plumber" in your unit, practicing plumbing without state approval? C'mon now. Seriously, why do people doubt that she really is a physician? Is there a good reason for this? Because asking for proof of her credentials is very likely going to seriously piss her off. And probably lose her kid to scouting too - or at least, to your troop. (Of course that means you don't have to deal with the kid's medical problems! You see how that could look fishy, if there isn't a darn good reason - way beyond her failure to satisfy your hand writing demands - to publicly doubt her authenticity.) As for why she's unemployed - perhaps she chose to set aside her career to help care for her evidently-sick child. Or maybe there's a glut of physicians in your area (??), or she found she didn't like the field after all, or she herself has been ill, or who knows what. THere are all sorts of legit reasons for this. So on this matter, I'm with scoutldr. Unless you begin demanding proof of license from all the other doctors who sign all the kids' forms (good luck with that!) I think you are way out of line here, barring some very very unusual circumstances (was she on the front page of the local paper as a fraud?). On the matter of not worrying about the illegible form til you get to camp and letting them sort it out - I don't agree with scoutldr. If a kid has significant health issues, as a leader I want to be able to read the form so that I know what those issues are. And I sure don't want to be wasting precious time trying to decipher the scrawl, if it comes to an emergency situation. This is just so easy to fix, I don't see why anyone would object to doing it. Use the PDF. In fact, my son's troop has gone the route of encouraging ALL parents to use the PDF version, just to make life easier on everybody. That's one good thing about the new forms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGreyEagle Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 If she is unemployed, she could always go to Camp to be the Camps Physician, at least for the week you are at Summer Camp and then she would have to provide Medical Liciense number et al to the Council and you guys are fine. Bonus, she is at Camp with her son Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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