Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: 11 July 2011 Dear Editor, Watching a sick and frightened child's first interaction with a medical student recently, it was hard to tell who was more terrified. Children's fear of doctors, and medical students' fear of children, is often a fear of the unknown. The Teddy Bear Hospital (TBH) in Australia is a project initiated by medical students that addresses these fears through a child-friendly hospital role-play conducted in schools and in the community. Children act as parents and bring the patient (their teddy bears) to be examined and treated by a teddy bear doctor (medical students). The aims of the TBH include: To reduce children's anxiety associated with the unfamiliarity of medical environments and treatments, through experiencing simulated age-appropriate medical encounters in a fun and safe environment; To provide medical students with early experience of the rewards and challenges of interacting with children in a pseudo-medical context, which they may otherwise not receive until clinical placements in later years of their studies; and To facilitate medical students' involvement with their local community and experience with organising teams and projects. TBH is an official project of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA), with TBHs run by medical student organizations throughout Europe and North America. The first Australian TBH started at the University of Queensland in 2006, and they are now run in most Australian states. Most TBHs focus on teddies receiving bedside treatment in the classroom for a simple problem such as a broken arm or sore throat, but there is much scope for expansion. Established TBHs in Europe include nursing and allied health students, onsite mock operating theatres and radiology departments and attract over 500 children! Sessions may also include fun and interactive health education sessions such as healthy eating and sun protection.1 TBH photo. Co-ordination and planning of the TBH project is undertaken by the students, involves liaison with schools and teachers and needs appropriate consent from parents. TBH volunteers receive initial training covering guidelines and boundaries for interacting with children, require relevant working with children checks and should be supervised by an appropriately qualified professional. The TBH project is a lot of fun, provides benefits to the medical students and children involved and may further encourage medical students to consider a career in paediatrics. We would commend paediatricians to encourage, support and participate in TBH projects run by medical students in their area.
Institutions: Royal Children's Hospital, Barwon Health
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1688709747