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22 May 2007
Sonal's Web Diary
On Saturday May 19th I became a Teddy Bear Doctor for a day. This happened through the organisation of two phase 3b students as a part of Medsin. Medsin stands for Medical Students International Network and is a society aimed at raising awareness of and taking action on humanitarian and global health issues at a local, national and international level. Medsin also does things like performing arts through hospitals.
The idea of the Teddy Bear Hospital was to help alleviate children’s fear of hospitals and doctors. The kids come in with sick teddy bears or other stuffed animals and the teddy is then examined and other investigations are done.
In the beginning I was assigned to a meet and greet at the entrance of Weston Park Museum. However, the most fun post for me was the history taking station. This was the first station out of a series and this is where I got to ask such questions as “What is wrong with teddy today?” and “How long has this been happening” etc, almost as if you would be asking a real person. It was really cute as most of the kids were young and had made up little stories of why their animal or bear was ill and what had happened. One girl had to bring her Winnie the Pooh doll in a basket because his leg was broken.
The teddy’s heart was then listened to, and then the child’s as well. We let the child listen to his or her own heart, and it was clear that this was one of the best parts for them. It’s not every day you get to hear your own heart beating!
The children were then moved onto other stations which involved such things as CT-Scan, X-Ray machine as well as a repair station for those stuffed animals that were ripped or falling apart.
All in all it was a really fun day and a cute opportunity to interact with children and let them ask you any question they may have. I will definitely participate in any future Teddy Bear Hospitals.
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