Although for us it is something routine and common, many children are afraid of the doctor. It may be that he does not trust the staff or the review causes him anxiety.
An initiative is helping these fears in children disappear, inviting them to Participate in the review and diagnostic procedures with your own patient: your teddy bear.
Teddy Bear Hospital It is an international project organized by the International Federation of Medical Student Associations (IFMSA) that seeks to help eliminate the fears or anxiety children experience when attending the doctor's appointment or being admitted to a hospital. hospital for health reasons.
Is your teddy in need of a check up? We will be at @chadstone_fashion for the rest of the afternoon tending to all the sick teddies out there! #teddybearhospital #chadstone
A shared publication of Teddy Bear Hospital Melbourne (@teddybearhospital) on Jul 23, 2016 at 8:49 AM PDT
According to information from the portal of the Spanish Federation of Medical Students for International Cooperation, this program, which in Spanish is called "Hospital de los Ositos", It has been implemented in more than 90 countries such as Brazil, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Japan, Mexico and the Czech Republic, among others.
What the program offers children is the opportunity to interpret the doctor and practice some procedures on a patient, in this case his teddy bear. Those who guide and advise small doctors are medical students from different universities.
the students participating in a "Teddy Bear Hospital"they do it voluntarily and they include students of medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, optometry and dentistry. Together they review and analyze the patient's symptoms to develop a diagnosis of the condition or disease they present.
Is your teddy in need of a check up? We will be at @chadstone_fashion for the rest of the afternoon tending to all the sick teddies out there! #teddybearhospital #chadstone
A shared publication of Teddy Bear Hospital Melbourne (@teddybearhospital) on Jul 23, 2016 at 8:49 AM PDT
In this way, children know and become familiar with routine processes in a relaxed way, since they act as the doctor and not as the patient who is undergoing the review and studies.
In addition to reviewing patients, children visit different stations of the "hospital", where they can learn how different areas work such as physiotherapy, intensive care, radiology, as well as learning about nutrition and healthy habits.
Is your teddy in need of a check up? We will be at @chadstone_fashion for the rest of the afternoon tending to all the sick teddies out there! #teddybearhospital #chadstone
A shared publication of Teddy Bear Hospital Melbourne (@teddybearhospital) on Jul 23, 2016 at 8:49 AM PDT
Some universities even attend schools to give workshops or courses in which they set up a "clinic" so that all children can participate in this tender initiative.
And if you wonder if this program actually works, a study was given the task of investigating the effects of it, obtaining positive results. The researchers concluded that initiating such pain-free approaches and tests between children and the medical environment helped them reduce anxiety levels about hospitalization.
Personally, it seems like a very nice and well thought out initiative to bring children closer and eliminate these stereotypes or beliefs that going to the doctor is something that produces nerves or fear.
Have you done any Teddy Bear Hospital in your city?
