Teddy bear hospital takes away children's fear of going to the doctor

Even a teddy bear can fall ill or break an arm. If this happens, the Teddy Bear Hospital at Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) provides expert help. And the crowds this year were enormous: more than 200 children from around 40 kindergartens in Witten travelled to the hospital on 27 October to have their sick cuddly toys treated.

As the "parents" of their teddy bears, the children got to know all the stations that are usually found in a clinic. Together with the "specialists in stuffed animal medicine" (medical students), they filled out an admission form for their stuffed animal, visited examination rooms, the X-ray and the operating theatre and had their protégé's dental health checked. After successful treatment, a prescription was filled at the pharmacy and the children were given advice on how to support their pet's recovery at home.

As a small highlight at the end of the visit, the children were even able to climb into an ambulance, which was available on the day in cooperation with the Witten District Association of the German Red Cross. The colleagues from the rescue service also took plenty of time to explain and show the children everything.

Henrike Kemper, one of the student organisers, was delighted with how much thought the children put into their cuddly companions and how imaginatively they dealt with the topic: "It's impressive how precisely some of the children can describe their stuffed animal's illness and how committed and serious they are about the treatment."

Next teddy bear hospital in 2023

Despite the long opening hours of this year's Teddy Bear Hospital and the large student team of 32 human medicine and nine dentistry students, it was unfortunately not possible to fulfil all the requests from the kindergartens. "As we would like to enable more children from the region to take part in the Teddy Bear Hospital and are reluctant to cancel facilities again, we have decided to offer the format every six months from next year," says Zoe Drückler from the organisation team at the end of the day. "We also want to weave psychology into the treatment and offer UW/H students and staff an opportunity to visit the Teddy Bear Hospital with their offspring."

Background

The teddy bear hospital is a playful way for children to familiarise themselves with all the elements of a visit to the doctor or clinic and to gain their first, fear-free experience of medical and dental treatment.

It is also a good opportunity for medical students to practise interacting with children and prepare for their future appointments.