Teddy Bear Hospital
Stephen Keddie explains more about what is involved in this initiative and give some advice on how to set up a teddy bear Hospital wherever you are
Teddy Bear Hospital Newcastle was set up in 2005 by a group of medical students as part of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), co-ordinated by Medsin- a network of students with an interest in health. Medsin’s activities aim to promote health as well as to act upon and educate students about health inequalities in our local and global communities. I have been involved in Teddy Bear Hospital since it was set up and over the years have gone from group member to running the charity itself. I’m writing this report to let you know what the project is all about, how it benefits the children involved, and why (and how) you should set a Teddy Bear Hospital (TBH) up at your University!
How does treating Pudsey help?
The Teddy Bear Hospital has two main objectives; to educate children about staying safe and promote healthy living, and secondly to reduce the fear children may experience when visiting a hospital, known as “hospital anxiety”. When children attend hospital wards, they are exposed to an entirely unfamiliar situation where they have to interact and communicate with adult Doctors they have never met before. They may also be subjected to examinations or investigations which may require the use of medical equipment such as reflex hammers, BP monitors or x-ray machines. This may result in children being less cooperative with the staff on the wards, making the experience more stressful than it should be for both the child and those providing care. For example, when taking blood, movement can not be tolerated and to do so results in difficulty obtaining a sample, and likely pain and anguish for the child. If children develop anxiety about visiting hospitals at a young age, this may detrimentally affect the way they access healthcare as they grow older.
What we do
Members from TBH visit a different school each week and spend an afternoon with a class of children. A mock hospital environment is set up, with its own waiting room where the children separate photos of food into a ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ pile, taste samples of different fruit and colour in pictures of people playing a variety of sports. They then bring their “sick” teddy bear or doll to meet the doctors and act as the parent, bearing responsibility for the sick toy. First the child explains the history of the illness or injury their teddy bear has to a teddy doctor. Trained medical students act as teddy doctors and interact with the child. Through cooperative history taking and examination, together they determine a “diagnosis” and plan how to help the sick teddy get better. A ‘pawscription’ for love and hugs is written, and both the child and teddy is given a sticker for being so brave.
Most teddy bears present with broken arms and legs but it helps to be prepared for anything! In previous visits I have seen a teddy bear ill from drinking poison and another bitten by a venomous snake- great experience of all you wilderness medics!
We believe by familiarising the children with medical equipment, and giving them the opportunity to speak with “doctors”, this should prepare them if they ever experience the unfortunate event of having to visit a hospital. Additionally, the children seem to really enjoy it and love getting involved which is great to see.
he Teddy Bear Doctors aim not only to “treat” the sick teddy but also to build a solid foundation of confidence between the doctor and child. We want to show children that illness and the fight against it is part of everyday life and does not necessarily have to be experienced as threatening or frightening.
Workshops
Whilst half the class is seeing Doctors for the first half of the afternoon, we also provide four 20 minute workshops through which the other half of the class rotates, before the two groups switch over. They learn about topics such as healthy eating, how and when to call for medical help and hand washing. They also play interactive games which aim to teach the children things like how to keep fit and brush their teeth (among other topics). Workshops should be tailored to the specific health promotion and education needs of the school and area. We have even had requests from schools to teach the children about diabetes, allergy, and epilepsy. This is because in each school there was a child in the class with the said condition. Although it is not important that all children become experts on epilepsy (what six year old can!), we have found it helps the children become more aware of the condition their classmate has, and we have been told they are more accepting of the person once they begin to understand the difficulties the child faces with their condition.
What will you get from it?
Medical students involved in the project get a fantastic sense of achievement from talking with the children, and really feel like they are making a difference. Although the children may not absorb absolutely everything you say, the benefit these children experience from visiting a Teddy Bear Hospital session will be one more link in the armour that provides children with a better sense of health protection and promotion.
If you’re interested in a career in Paediatrics this is a great way to practise your communication skills with children and get a taste of the work you hope to do in the future.
How to set up your own Teddy Bear Hospital?
Here are some simple steps how to set up your own Teddy Bear Hospital (courtesy of the Teddy Bear Hospital starter pack, supplied by Medsin).
-Get support from the IFMSA, Medsin (if in the UK), and your medical school.
-Set up a committee and get in contact with others who have done it before! tbh@medsin.org- the National Teddy Bear Hospital Co-ordinator exists to help you. Medsin have resource packs they can give you; this contains all the resources you will need to get started.
-Do some market research- What are the specific requirements of the local community? What is the cultural percentage mix? What are the potential barriers that may prevent easy communication between TBH and the local community?
-PROMOTE! Write to Schools, inform Paediatricians, nurses and playgroup workers. Write to Newspapers and make a web page
-Make sure you cover yourself legally; ensure med students are trained and have insurance, and a clean criminal record form
-Raise money for equipment. Do this by sponsored events, donations, merchandising, grants and events- you’ll never know how much money a cake sale can bring in if you try
If you’re interested in setting up a Teddy Bear Hospital at your University, I (and 200 other Newcastle medical students) highly recommend it! As long as you get a few dedicated people involved this is not a difficult project to set up and the benefits are huge, both for you and the children involved! And lets not forget the Teddies…..
Stephen Keddie
4th Year Medical Student and Teddy Bear Hospital Coodinator
Newcastle University
UK
s.b.keddie@newcastle.ac.uk