Hospital lessons child’s play for student doctors
The country’s first Teddy Bear Hospital project was an eye-opener for potential patients and trainee doctors.
“The project showed children that a hospital environment can be friendly and welcoming and that there’s no need to be terrified,” said UCD medical student Colin Kilmartin.
“It also benefited student doctors in dealing with children before having to experience their fears in a real-life emergency.”
More than 250 children, aged between four and eight years, from Dublin city centre schools, brought their dolls and teddy bears for a medical examination in a colourful hospital ‘ward’, set up in a ballroom of the Mansion House.
Thirty-five students from the country’s five medical colleges participated.
Project coordinator Jennifer Slater said: “It was a fun and games day for everyone. The children were excited and the students were delighted.”
A second-year student at the Royal College of Surgeons, Ms Slater said: “I found it enlightening, learning how to work with kids and experiencing how they think. Equally amazing was how children can be so different in their approach and reactions to doctors.”
The children also toured an ambulance, played with toys and watched a movie in a temporarily-provided waiting room.
Branches of the International Federation Medical Students Association (IFMSA) have conducted similar successful projects in Germany, Britain, Holland and Poland.
“The project has advantages for children and students,” said Mr Kilmartin, IFMSA vice-president.
“It eases children’s fears in a playful, non-threatening way. The aim of the Teddy Bear Hospital is to provide a fun-filled, enjoyable and thrilling time for the children and ourselves.”
