Students at St Cuthbert's Catholic School will get the chance to run their teddy bears through their health check-up paces tomorrow (Friday 29 March), when they receive a special visit from local medical students, as part of the University of Tasmania's Teddy Bear Hospital program.
University School of Medicine students will act as 'teddy doctors' in what will be the school's first participation in the ever-expanding program.
Prep students will have the chance to put their teddies through their paces at different health care stations such as Teddy GP, Teddy surgery, Teddy handwashing, Teddy X-ray, Teddy emergency and Teddy exercise.
The Teddy Bear Hospital (TBH), which started at the University's School of Medicine in 2013, is a community project aiming to familiarise young children with hospitals and medical treatment.
Third-year medical student Aleksander Wejman said the program, which is expanding into more Tasmanian schools this year, had benefits for all students involved.
"The Teddy Bear Hospital is an extremely valuable program that has potential benefits for both medical students and primary school students," he said.
"The program provides a fun and non-threatening environment for children to learn more about medical encounters, with the aim of alleviating any associated fears, while at the same time helping medical students to develop communication skills in the paediatric setting."
The Teddy Bear Hospital concept was founded by the International Federation of Medical Students Associations, and the University of Tasmania program is modelled on existing programs run in Australia and overseas.
