Our hospital works with local schools to allow elementary students to tour certain areas. Do any of you have any creative ideas on how to make our boring tours more fun? I'd be very interested to see what others do!

 

Thanks in advance!

We also take the students to the less typical departments to show them that there are many different people/jobs that work in a hospital. PBX, Medical Records, Dietary, Lab, Pharmacy, Mail Room, etc. It helps them to realize that much of what goes on in a hospital is similar to other places they frequent.

We do something called "Scrubs Camp".  We did not create this idea but learned about it from another hospital...Fairmont General.  "Scrubs Camp" is an all day event.  Frist we give the kids scrubs to wear that day (they do keep them).  We divide into 3 groups (approx. 12 kids in each group) and guide them through hands on learning activities in varrious departments that choose to participate.  Each session last approx. 20 minutes.  For example our Surgi Care Center sets up surgidcal room with mock "dummy".  The kids come in an actually watch a mock gallbladder surgery.  The kids even get to use the equipment rather than removing a gallbladder they remove hershey kisses (a ton of fun).  The morgue brings us in and the kids get to hold yes body parts i.e. lung, heart kidney, brain, etc.  The Pathologist explains functions and any oddities.  We have massage therapist on staff they too get involved and give mini massages to the kids, kids do ultrasounds on each other, cardiac rehab puts them on telemetry machine, the day goes on and on.  It sounds like a great deal of work, but we have been doing it 6 years and after the first year it runs so smoothly and with little planning.  We actually use it as a recruiting tool for junior volunteers.