All better after Teddy Bear Clinic | News

Preschool student Fiona Svetcov and her plush friend Cutie Pie checked into the Teddy Bear Clinic at Canyon del Oro High School on Jan. 27.

Fiona, and Cutie Pie, each received a brightly colored registration wristband, a checklist for stickers and a special toy stethoscope from CDO students. Together, they proceeded through four other stations, where high school students identified Cutie Pie’s vital signs, passed her through the “X-Ray Machine,” applied a bandage to Cutie Pie’s injured limb, and finished the morning with crayons, a teddy bear picture to color and a lollipop.

This first Teddy Bear Clinic at CDO had dual purposes — to help 27 young children in the CDO Early Learning Center feel more comfortable when they go to medical appointments, and to help the high school’s aspiring health care professionals learn how to relate to young “patients.”

“For our first kick-off year, I could not be any happier with how it went,” said CDO school nurse Brittney Araiza, RN, who came up with the idea. “It ran smoothly, and we were able to see how we can expand the event in coming years.”

Young children associate a doctor’s office with shots, bumps and bruises. Going to the doctor is “not fun,” said Stephen Whetherhult, a CDO sports medicine teacher who worked as an emergency medical technician. “How do we make a hospital trip fun?

“The big goal” of the clinic, he said, is to take away the fear children may have when they see a medical professional, be it for a wellness or emergency visit.

A second goal was to help high school students, many of whom “want to go into healthcare,” become “comfortable with littles,” Whetherhult added.

Once CDO students solved the logistics — “How do you make a cast for a stuffed animal?”, one asked — the clinic gave them “an opportunity to practice their skills in a real-world setting,” said Jessica Wheatley, the early childhood education teacher and head track coach at CDO.

Jasmyn Miranda, a junior who wants to become a nurse practitioner, enjoyed taking the blood pressure and pulse readings of comfort toys.

“I like working with little kids,” she said. “This gives me an idea of how it’ll be when I’m older. I’ll be more comfortable talking with a little kid.”

Estevan Davila, a CDO senior who is considering work as a medical assistant and phlebotomist, introduced himself to each child, then asked his or her name and the name of their furry friend.

“What’s wrong?” he’d ask, and the preschooler would answer. When a pet’s limb needed to be wrapped, the child picked the color of bandage. “She has to keep it on for a week,” Davila told Julianna Prenda, whose plush pal is Ella.

“This is really cool,” Davila said between patients. “We can help the little kids feel better and more comfortable” when they’re receiving care.

To conclude the clinic, preschoolers were discharged by their “primary care doctors,” who are in fact early childhood education students who “speak ‘preschool’,” Wheatley said. They helped the little ones feel good about the experience, aided by coloring and a sweet treat.

“They’re getting the idea, and leaving with smiles on their faces,” Whetherhult said.

The littles will keep smiling in the “pet vet” pretend play area within the early learning center. The “X-Ray machine” is now there, so the children “can practice what they saw the big kids doing,” said Karissa Weiler, who works with Tiffin Garcia as teachers and site directors at the preschool. During the week, they guided preschoolers to interactions with CDO students in the automotive, fine arts and culinary programs.