This week, I got to have one of my best experiences ever as a physician: I got to teach the kids about being a doctor at Melly's daycare!
I have literally been waiting for this moment for 25 years, since my own father came to my school and taught my classmates about being a doctor. And it was every bit as fun as I hoped it would be. I dressed the kids up in masks and caps with rubber gloves, let them use my stethoscope to listen to each other's chests, let them pump up my sphygmomanometer, and checked knee jerk reflexes on every one of them.
It was a hit. The kids were shooting their hands up to volunteer. I kept a dozen kids ages two through four captivated for 45 minutes, and when the teacher broke it up for snack time, the kids were crowding around me for more. I loved hearing the other kids saying to my daughter, "I didn't know your mommy was a doctor!"
It made me happy that I have a career that seems so fun to little kids. If I were, say, an investment banker, I'm not sure what I could have done. I wonder if I converted any of the kids to wannabe doctors.
And today they made me a card to say thank you.
P.S. Good luck to everyone on Match Day! Apparently, there's a very scientific method to assure everything works out OK.
Sounds fun Fizzy!
ReplyDeleteI dissected cow eyeballs with the 10 year olds at Sicily's school a little over a year ago. It was a blast (YouTube helped remind me of the eye parts). At the end, one of the ten year olds asked: "What do you have the most fun dissecting? What is the best time you can think of?"
I looked at him. "This one." So I know how it feels. I like your idea - I'd love to do it for my son's class. I'd have to borrow all the real doctor tools, though:)
If you were an investment banker, you could have asked to borrow their lunch money. Then when they asked for it back, you could say, "Sorry kids, the market is down," and left.
ReplyDeleteHee.
Sound like it was fun.
I did this same thing every year for several years in a row for my sons' classes - lots of fun! (One of my favorite items on my "ego wall" is a thank-you note from a pre-school class which starts "Dear Eldest's Mom:" and includes a drawing of what a reflex feels like :) )
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing back great memories!
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How fun!! I can't wait to do this with my kids' classes
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