Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2018 - 18

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The Reading Hospital/
Tower Health Summer
Student Training Program
has once again provided
valuable clinical and
research experience to a
group of highly capable
and motivated young
people planning careers
in medicine. Berks County
Medical Society members
contribute to the team
effort involved in making
this program a success,
and the Society is grateful
to Reading Hospital for
allowing our President's
Intern to participate in
the didactic sessions that
are one feature of this
program. The physicians
who presented didactic
sessions this year were
Benjamin Lloyd, MD,
John Sheffield, MD, Peter
Schnatz, DO, and Charles
Barbera, MD.
This year's research
projects covered a wide
range of stimulating
topics, and we are proud
to present the following
abstracts of the completed
work.

18

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www.berkscms.org

Reading Hospital/Tower Health

Student Sum

Perceived School Safety among Berks
County School Nurses and School
Counselors in Conjunction with a Variety
of Variables
by D. Michael Baxter, MD (Chair);
Spencer Barbera,
Department of Family & Community Medicine, Reading
Hospital, Reading, Pennsylvania
INTRODUCTION:
School violence is a major public health issue in the United States, and presents itself
in many different forms ranging from verbal bullying to deadly school shootings. A review
of mandatory annual school safety reports for a sample of Berks County school districts
indicated that there was a significant number and wide range of acts of violence that occurred
in our local schools during the year 2017. Our observations suggested the hypothesis that
perceptions of school safety among school nurses and school counselors is dependent on the
following factors: the prevalence of adolescent depression, frequency of bullying behaviors,
and degree of student engagement, within their respective schools and institutions.

METHODS:
On October 8th, 2018, all school nurses and school counselors in Berks County,
Pennsylvania will be attending a one-day conference on school safety and school violence.
At this conference, they will be administered a survey gauging the relation of perceptions of
school safety in relationship to variables. These variables include general demographics, the
prevalence of adolescent depression at their schools, the presence of referral programs for
students suffering from adolescent depression, frequency of bullying behaviors among their
respective student bodies, and the degree of student involvement in clubs and extracurricular
activities.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS:
The results will be obtained after the surveys are completed by the participants. The
findings from the surveys will undergo statistical analysis, and be checked for correlations
among the varying school officials from across Berks County. This research project will still be
in its preliminary stage until the surveys are completed, and will formally conclude in the fall
of 2018.

Spencer Barbera is a Junior at Tulane University.
http://www.berkscms.org
Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2018
