VFMP students (L-R: Daniel Metcalf, Alex Sheppard and Erica Zallen) visit Vancouver child care centres as part of the UBC Teddy Bear Clinics, which aim to help children feel more at ease when seeing a doctor.
It is a cold, rainy March morning in Vancouver. Parents shuffle their little ones into the warmth of the “little blue house” that is West Side Family Place, where many of them come each day to play, sing songs and create art. Hot coffee and baked treats wait for the moms and dads who may not have had time to grab a bite before leaving home. As the children dive into their activities, the adults chat with one another.
For over 30 years, Westside Family Place (WSFP) has been a gathering place for Vancouver parents and children. Its mandate is to serve as a resource centre dedicated to helping families meet new friends, gain a sense of community and get support so they can raise happy, healthy children. Eva Svensson, who used to bring her own children to the centre, is now their Family Support Coordinator. She believes what WSFP brings to the community is very important:
“It can be a very isolating experience to become a parent. Here we hope to break that isolation and allow parents to be around others who are going through the same things they are. This (relating to others) is so healthy and can be preventative in so many ways.”
Today is a little different than most days at WSFP. Each of the youngsters has brought along their favourite teddy bear or stuffed animal. In the living room of the house, four UBC medical students have set up a “Teddy Bear Clinic”, where the children can bring their beloved toys for a pretend check-up. The students guide the children through an exam, checking the toys’ eyes, ears and mouths, listening to their hearts and administering pretend vaccinations.
“The Teddy Bear Clinic allows children to role-play as doctors for their stuffed animals, thus gaining exposure to medical equipment and procedures in a safe environment where they are in control,” says Manisha Subedi, a second-year VFMP student. “We hope that this experience will give them a better understanding of, and reason for, what happens in encounters with their health care providers, and thus alleviate anxiety in their future interactions.”
The Teddy Bear Clinic was started a few years ago by two second-year UBC medical students. Svensson says the clinic has been a beneficial addition to West Side Family Place’s programming. “It’s wonderful in that it helps the children overcome some of the fears they may have around going to the doctor.”
The medical students are grateful for the opportunity to interact and work with children and feel it will help them in their decisions regarding what kind of medicine they chose to practice in the future. “We are grateful for the opportunity to interact with children in the community,” says Subedi. “This (experience) is teaching us about how to communicate with our future patients.”
As for the children, they are happy to see their fuzzy friends receive a clean bill of health and delight in the stickers they receive for being such great care givers.