A group of London elementary school children are now a little more knowledgeable about health and medicine, thanks to some stuffing-filled friends.
Medical students from Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry were at Northbrae Public School on Wednesday, as part of the Teddy Bear Hospital Project. The project uses stuffed bears as patients to introduce children to some of the tools and procedures they may encounter at the hospital or doctor’s office. It also aims to alleviate the fear and anxiety that children may experience during a medical visit.
A medical student from Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry attends Northbrae Public School in London, as part of the Teddy Bear Hospital Project, APril 5, 2017. (Photo by Miranda Chant)
"Most of them already have seen a doctor a couple times, but some of them may get apprehension or anxiety when they go for a visit, especially when comes to being around needles," said Cory Lefebvre, a second-year med student at Western who attended the elementary school. "[So this] is a more interactive way of teaching the kids about how to handle the doctor's office."
Lefebvre said the medical students spoke with the kids about a number of topics including good hygiene, how often they should visit the doctor, the importance of vaccinations, as well as what x-ray and MRI scans are.
Morgan Rogers, a Grade 1 student at Northbrae, said she enjoyed getting to see how bones looked through an x-ray.
"That was weird and cool at the same time," she said, adding that she had no idea what her bones looked like. "I've never seen my bones before."
Austin Sheridan, another Grade 1 student, said he really enjoyed getting a chance to listen to his heart beating with a stethoscope.
"We tried it on our teddy bears and us," he said.
Lefebvre said the program is always well received by the students, but adds that it also benefits the medical students as well. He said it gives them a chance to practice interacting with children, which is good experience for when they have to attend to patients in the future.
"We do have our clinical skills curriculum in medical school, but often times we don't get to see a lot of patients one-on-one," he said. "So this offers us... a fun chance of being able to communicate with a different set of patient population -- in this case pediatrics."
Lefebvre said the Teddy Bear Hospital Project was adapted in London about seven years ago, after originating in the United Kingdom. So far this year, the Western med students have attended around 40 elementary schools.
