Teddy Bears take the dread out of doctor
Bendigo primary school students have had their fears and anxieties about going to the doctor diminished thanks to medical students and a collective of teddy bears!
Medical students from Monash and Melbourne Universities took part in a Teddy Bear Hospital for children at Camp Hill Primary School. The grade one and two students took part in several workshops, which aimed to educate the children as well as reduce the anxiety and nervousness that goes with going to the doctor or the hospital.
Monash Year 4 students Shelene and Charles perform "surgery" on a teddy with the assistance of Camp Hill primary school students.
Workshops included the importance of thorough hand washing, thumb plastering (complete with a glitter coating), asthma management, healthy eating with a impressive array of fruit to nibble on, an X-ray station, ‘surgery’ teddy complete with balloon organs and a convenient zip up tummy and – the children’s favourite – immunising your teddy, albeit with safe syringes without needles and water as medication. There were some fairly soggy teddies at the end of that station.
Ted Bear was also in attendance, happily receiving cuddles from the children (and a couple of Monash University staff members). The morning was a great success and the classroom teacher was thrilled with the children’s behaviour and engagement and the adult students enjoyed the experience just as much.