Back to School in the best of health
This event is held annually at QUT Health Clinics, Kelvin Grove Campus
QUT’s Health Clinics have seen a record number of school-aged children in 2017 for Back to School Health Checks, with 254 children undergoing screenings for vision and eye health, nutrition, podiatry and education and development over 3 days in January.
The free annual event is a valuable experience for graduate and final-year students. Emily Gill, Coordinator of the Nutrition and Dietetics Clinic, said, "They’ve hit the ground running and they’ve been brilliant."
"Paediatrics is one of those things that you can learn from books and you can learn the theory, but I think the practice of it in the clinic setting is really different. Chatting to kids and chatting at a level that they understand and that will sink in for that child in the chair in front of you is a skill that you need to learn on the clinic floor, so having three days to practice that with kids is an amazing opportunity, and I think they’ve all really valued it. It’s been fantastic for us and them and for the families, so it’s a win-win."
Fifth-year Optometry student, Gregory Hindmarsh, said that he now feels much more confident communicating with young children.
"Before the screening, I had had very little experience dealing with young children and I was unsure of how I would go trying to communicate with, and examine them effectively. I was surprised at how enjoyable the experience was, and was happy to find that working with young kids isn’t as scary or difficult as I first thought! I am now looking forward to doing more paediatric work through our paediatric clinic at QUT this year."
A surprising number of parents discovered their children may need glasses or had other eye issues, with 32 percent of kids seen by the Optometry Clinic recommended for further assessment.
Gregory said he saw a few short-sighted students. "Neither the children nor their parents knew that they had poor vision, or required glasses. The fact that many children may be attending school with such poor vision and be completely unaware, highlights the importance of screening school aged children."
The Podiatry Clinic was also able to detect foot and gait issues needing immediate follow-up in 25 percent of children seen, with a further 29% recommended for follow-up in 12 months’ time.
Podiatry Clinic Coordinator Matthew Triggs said that it was important to provide parents with information so that they could monitor any issues that were developing with their kids.
"There’s certain things that, over time, can tend to create problems long-term for kids, and we want to pick those up early, and at least either monitor them, or if they’re already experiencing pain, we want to settle the pain, allow them to continue without having ongoing symptoms."
"During semester we run between four and five paediatrics clinics per week, and that means that we can cater to them well and look in even more depth than we can during the screening."
It’s not too late to bring your children – or yourself! – to the QUT Health Clinics. Just give them a call on 07 3138 9777 or visit the website at www.healthclinics.qut.edu.au.
About QUT Health Clinics
The QUT Health Clinics at Kelvin Grove aim to provide quality clinical education to the next generation of healthcare professionals and quality patient care to the community.
The clinics deliver low-cost healthcare services across Eating Disorders, Exercise Physiology, Family Mediation, Nutrition and Dietetics, Optometry, Podiatry, and Psychology and Counselling.