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Medical Author:

Bettina E Bernstein, DO

Medical Editor:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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Cross-cultural considerations should be taken into account when determining treatment of school refusal. Some students sent to boarding school may experience symptoms of physical illness caused by abrupt separation from family. These symptoms may include an inability to eat and hallucinations. Some Native American tribes call these symptoms "bad spirits." Native American students may experience a reversal of symptoms upon returning to their tribe, or with the assistance of a Native American healer.

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