The students love interacting with the kids. It really helps build those soft skills.
It was a full day for nursing students at Francis Tuttle Technology Center, as they turned their classroom and lab space into a clinic for cuddly friends.
The annual Teddy Bear Clinic opened its doors to children from the Child Development Center and their stuffed animals who all received a checkup and clean bill of health. The event gives students in the Pre-Nursing program a chance to work on their soft skills with patients.
“It teaches the kids not to be scared of getting a checkup and what to expect when you go,” Amira McClain, a first-year Pre-Nursing student who attends Putnam City North High School, said.
Children and their cuddly friends are led through various stations that cover all the basics of a checkup and healing any boo-boos. They start by putting on personal protective equipment – masks, gloves, gowns, and hairnets – that nurses would wear in a clinic or hospital setting.
“That way, they understand what it is for and why it is useful,” Pre-Nursing Instructor Rachel Watkins said.
Next for the teddy bears was to check their vital signs. Pre-Nursing students used this time to introduce the kids to stethoscopes, thermometers, and vaccinations.
McClain said shots are an important topic to cover since they tend to scare kids the most. And while students are helping children get used to checkups, they also get a similar experience to working with real patients.
“It helps ease their fears of visiting the doctor’s office or hospitals,” Watkins said. “The students love interacting with the kids. It really helps build those soft skills.”
Zoi Slusarchuk, a Pre-Nursing student and a junior at Deer Creek High School, worked in the X-ray lab station at the Teddy Bear Clinic. Students set up two tables with a blanket and a large circular tube to simulate an X-ray or MRI machine so children could make sure their teddy bears didn’t have any broken bones.
“We check them in and run their teddy bears through the X-ray machine,” she said. “Afterward, we show them on an X-ray scan that their cuddly friend is OK. They get so excited when they see the actual image.”
Everything about the clinic is lighthearted and fun. In the next station, teddy bears are fixed up with colorful bandages, and checkout includes stickers and a photo.
“I do want to work with kids,” Slusarchuk said. “I’ve worked as a nanny, and I just love working with kids. So, to be here and getting to interact with them and help them has been super sweet.”