Diagnosis: Adorable

Pre-K and high school students partner to treat fluffy friends

AZLE — Dragons, dinosaurs, unicorns and more got first class treatment from pre-K professionals at an unusual meeting of medical minds.

Liberty Elementary School, in partnership with Azle High School and the Azle Fire Department, held its first-ever Teddy Bear Clinic, offering preschoolers a fun educational experience aimed at creating interest and reducing fears surrounding medical care.

Emergency Medical Technicians from the Azle Fire Department visited the school Wednesday morning, Feb. 19, and gave the young students a look inside an ambulance, showing off their sirens and other tools of the trade. EMTS said they hoped to make a positive first impression and ease any fears they might have about emergency medical services.

Around 46 pre-K students from two classes participat-

Maverick Nolte, age 4, takes a close look into the ear of Lyle Crocodile during a check-up.

ed. High school student buddies turned out at a nearly 1-to-1 ratio.

Tiffany Shaw, a health science teacher at Azle High School, said the activity was something of a reward for students in her certified nursing assistant program. This year’s group had a 100% pass rate after completing clinicals at Azle Manor.

“I have a great group of CNA students who are now working on phlebotomy and EKG, adding to their skill set,” Shaw said of her group. “They have made individual ambulances out of boxes, creatively designed for pre-K students to place their teddy bears in and drive around. We’re just ready for a fun and exciting day. We started off working with our elderly population, and now we’re working with our young ones.”

The ever-expanding health sciences portion of AHS’ career and technical education program has been thinking outside the box this year, allowing students to get experience and knowledge through a wide range of avenues and guest speakers, some of which Shaw noted were AHS graduates themselves.

Student nurse Yvonne Olguin explained the process for preschoolers, who brought their own stuffed animals from home.

“They start by gathering basic information about their patient—their teddy bear’s name, type of animal, and symptoms,” Olguin said. “Then, they go through a natural process of checking vital signs like temperature, blood pressure and heart rate. If a teddy bear has a broken arm, they get a sling. If there’s a cut, they get a bandage. If they’re just tired, they might need more sleep.”

Liberty Elementary Nurse Shawna Jean Clouatre was inspired to collaborate the event with Shaw after reading about a similar event in a nursing journal.

“So, I read an article in a nursing journal where a smaller school had done this, and it was in Montana, on an Indian reservation where they had a public school and there was a lot of mistrust with the medical community,” Clouatre said. “So, they did an activity like this to show the students what is typically done if you go to the doctor. I liked that concept and wanted to switch it so that we could do something to show students what the school nurse does, because a lot of times students are scared to come to me when they first start the school year, thinking they’re going to get a shot if they come see me or they think I’m super impressive and that I can take x-rays and things like that. So, doing this event was more of a trial to see if we can show kiddos what my scope of practice is as a school nurse. So, I reached out to the high school teacher for the medical assistant CTE course and she had said that they were considering doing a community wide event similar to this and so I said, ‘Well, let’s team up and do it on a smaller scale to see if we can work out the kinks.’” Clouatre hopes to expand the program and implement it for pre-k and kindergarten students in the fall. For the high school students, Clouatre emphasized that learning to work and communicate with small children was a vital skill for future healthcare workers.

Liberty pre-k teacher Alison Schillings observed that preschoolers enjoyed interacting with their older peers.

“They really love that they’re able to be so hands-on with the big kids,” Schillings said. “I love that they were allowing a lot of little kids to help them.”

Senior Kelan Becerra, paired with his 4-year-old buddy Maddox, said they had been having a fantastic experience.

“It’s been fun,” Becerra said. “I mean, it was my first time getting to see an ambulance inside. So, I think being in it makes me feel like a kid again.”

After high school, Becerra wants to major in nursing or kinesiology. He agreed that learning to understand children’s feelings and emotions would be a major benefit in a future medical practice.

“It was an overall good experience,” Becerra said. “I got a lot of opportunities from the CTE courses in high school. I think I already have a foot in the door when I get out of high school.”

Senior Gabby Briseno, who hopes to pursue a career as a registered nurse, also found the event rewarding.

“I really love it,” Briseno said. It’s been so much fun. I like hanging out with the kids and watching them see the ambulance and stuff like that. They’re so excited. It’s nice being able to work with all different types of ages to know how you need to speak to them and how you need to work with them to get them their best care.”

For the preschoolers, the event was mostly just plain fun. Four-year-old Maverick Nolte, accompanied by his stuffed crocodile Lyle, said his favorite part was hearing the ambulance siren. Journey Miller, age 5, caring for her Charmander plush, explained that he hurt his tail and foot while going down the slide with her. With the help of her high school buddy, she put a cast on the Pokémon and had him good as new.

Journey was particularly inspired by the experience. “When I grow up, I want to be one of them—an ambulance!” she said, pointing to her high school buddy.