Uko Akpanuko
Daily Herald
The University of Saskatchewan Nursing students together with the Prince Albert Early Years Family Resource Centre put together a Teddy Bear Clinic on Friday, where they used stuffed animals to teach kids ages five and under about visits to the Doctor.
“It’s been fabulous,” Colleen Moody, Coordinator of the PA Early Years Family Resource Centre said. “They come in with fresh ideas and a unique outlook on things. They were really outgoing. They just want to be part of everything and join in.”
Moody said the nursing student team helped come up with several new program ideas, one of which was the Teddy Bear Clinic. Friday was the fourth time they held the clinic. Moody said everyone has been well received, with lots of children coming through the door to get their teddy bears checked.
“There have been quite a few parents who have been really grateful for it. Their children afraid to go to the doctor, so for them to come and get a chance to handle a stethoscope and watch it being worked on their teddy bear and getting their temperature taken, it’s really been positive. A lot of parents have really been grateful for that and the children got a positive experience.”
Fourth year USask nursing students Amber Thomas, Seyi Agbodo, and Val Gonzalez ran Friday’s clinic, with help from USask nursing instructor Jessica Little.
Thomas said they try to give the children a hands-on experience.
“Most kids, unless they had some sort of illness throughout their life, they don’t go to the doctor very often,” Thomas said. “It’s more to make them more comfortable with going to the hospital or going to the clinic when they need to, because we don’t want them to be scared. It’s more to make them feel welcome.”
The nursing students give the children a pen light to look into their teddy bear’s eyes, ears, and mouth. They also have stethoscopes, thermometers, and bandages to help them treat a variety of teddy bear ailments.
At the end of the Teddy Bear Clinic, the kids are given certificates and stickers for participating.
“A lot of kids feel scared about going to the dentist or going to the doctor or things like that because its unknown,” Thomas said. “I think it’s important in case they do end up getting sick in the future and they have to go in. We don’t want them to have that anxiety or the stigma that relates to hospitals or doctors or anything of that sort. It’s just to make the kids feel more comfortable.”
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
