Pupils play doctor for a day

Hospital: Children visit Anne Arundel Medical Center to learn more about health care.

Education Beat

News from Anne Arundel County schools and colleges

Going to the hospital isn't so scary after all.

That was the message from several staff members at Anne Arundel Medical Center, who spent a day last week with about 500 squirming pupils.

The hospital invited children from various county elementary schools to participate in its "Hands on Health" event, a 26-year-old program aimed at teaching children about their bodies and what to expect from a visit to the doctor.

Held on the second floor of the Sajak Pavilion, the event featured a cluster of tables at which doctors and nurses gave hands-on lessons in health care.

At one table, the children learned how to hold and change an infant. At another, they learned about setting broken bones and performing surgery. They even got to pull pretend tonsils, made out of red sponges, from the mouth of a puppet and draw fake blood made out of red fruit juice.

"It's a five-star idea," said Annemarie Schultheis, a teacher at Lothian Elementary. "It's very practical and hands-on, which the kids love."

After playing doctor at the various tables, it was snack time.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, the children munched on chocolate cookies and sipped from cartons of milk while giggling and showing off their pretend splints and bandages.

Soon they were silenced by a doctor dressed in a white lab coat, who began asking them about broken bones - a topic that quickly captured their attention.

"What happens when you don't drink enough milk and you fall?" asked Dr. Michael Clemmens, director of pediatrics at the hospital. "You break your ... "

"Bones!" shouted the children.

To protect bones, Clemmens said, children should eat macaroni and cheese, drink milk and wear a safety helmet when they go on bike rides.

"What do you put on when you get in the car?" asked Clemmens.

"Seat belt!" the children yelled in unison.

"That's right, and you put it on even when you don't think you're going to get in an accident," Clemmens reminded them.

Wearing paper hats reading "future nurse" or "future doctor," the children also learned that both boys and girls can be either doctors or nurses.

Clemmens, who has participated in the event for the past five years, said it's an engaging way to introduce children to the hospital.

"I think they came away with the idea that they don't have to be scared when they come to a doctor or a hospital," he said. "And that it's fun to take care of people."

When asked whether he thought the class contained any future doctors, Clemmens said: "I think we definitely had a few."