Teddy bear hospital is project run by medical students within the Standing Committee on Public Health of the IFMSA and within the European Medical Students Association - EMSA.
It addresses to children in the pre-school age, 3-6 years, with the goal to reduce in a playful way the fear of children to visit a doctor or the hospitalisation and at the same time provides an opportunity for medical students to learn more about paediatrics and gives them a chance to work with children.
The main focus of the Teddy Bear Hospital Project is to create an athmosphere of trust where children can deal with the topic “Hospital and disease”. Impressions and beliefs, which children acquire by family and media, should be seized, conceived and if necessary be corrected through playing, also by giving medical insights to children.We want to show the 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.The thematic main point is the meeting of child and doctor and idea that aim of every medical work should not only be the treatment, but also the building of a solid foundation of confidence between the doctor and his little patient.
This aim is reached through the way Teddy Bear Hospitals works.
A place (a tent, gym, hall,..)is colourfully decorated and set up as a hospital. The kindergartens of the city will be invited to visit the hospital. Usually in one Teddy Bear-Hospital of two days about 400 children could be examined with their toys.
Before their visit in our Teddy Bear Hospital the nanny or nurse should discuss and talk with the children about “being ill”, physicians and hospitals. The children should think about diseases for their dolls which will be treated later in the Teddy Bear Hospital.
First the children explain the history of the present illness of their teddy bear to a teddy doctor.
Together they make an anamnesis and after this the teddy doctor does an “physical examination” (e.g. palpation, auscultation…) and further diagnostics ( e.g. “X-Ray”). Most teddy bears and dolls have fractures of legs and arms. After this the patient gets a medical treatment. We only practice non-invasive treatments with tapes and bandage. Finally the teddy doctor writes a prescription and the child can get some “medicine” sweets in the “Teddy Bear Hospital - Pharmacy”. Besides they have also the opportunity to explore an ambulance car. During the waiting period the children can play in a special playground and waiting area. The children are supervised by their kindergarten teachers and special paediatric nurses.
Austria