Novel experiment - What caring really entails

THE virtual baby project at the Christian Brothers secondary school in Clonmel seems like a novel experiment to teach teenage boys a sense of responsibility. Boys in the transition year are given computerised dolls — which closely resemble five-month-old infants — to mind over a weekend.

Each of the boys has to wear a wristband with a computer chip that monitors the boy’s interactions with the doll. When the doll cries, the boy has to check why it is crying — whether it needs a bottle, a nappy change, or burping. The whole thing is treated as a module of class work and part of the student’s annual assessment, so the students have to take it seriously.

“I wouldn’t go out in public with the baby,” one boy explained. “I was mortified. It was very realistic.”

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has 1,500 of these dolls. Some were initially provided for the local presentation convent secondary school. The project would seem to have valuable educational potential.

Maybe the initiative could be adapted for public bodies, especially the administrative staff of the HSE.

They could be required to look after some virtual patients to provide them with practical incentives to tackle the waiting list problems.