Teddy Bear Hospital Officer x3

Ritika Roy

Hi everyone! I’m currently a 2nd year medic, and I joined the scheme in my first year and have loved it ever since! I am really passionate about educating children about their bodies and their health, and having seen how much children enjoy these sessions, I am keen to get more involved with the running of the sessions.

I have experience volunteering with children from various backgrounds, as well as experience running events and coordinating teams as a representative for an international charity. I am excited to work with the TBH co-ordinator and other officers as a team to engage and inspire the children!

I’m excited to boost publicity of the scheme to non-healthcare degrees, as I am aware that Paediatrics society is keen to include everyone! This will be a huge benefit to the team as we can recruit volunteers with a wide range of backgrounds. I am also keen to help expand the scheme and design new stations for slightly older children, e.g. for basic first aid skills. I’m also enthusiastic about adapting the scheme to post-pandemic life- this could include some hygiene stations or developing more online resources to help children understand this confusing time.

I have previously volunteered with a play scheme for children with Special Educational Needs, and in various Lower Schools for over 4 years. Through my work volunteering with children from so many backgrounds, I have developed the ability to think on my feet and adapt to children’s needs, which will be an asset when running sessions! I also have experience with publicity through my work with an international charity this year, which involved organising and promoting our own events; I am eager to bring these skills to the table to boost publicity for TBH. I have also been involved in organising a conference, which has given me confidence with Outreach and organising teams, as well as giving me experience with administrative tasks. I have really enjoyed volunteering with TBH in the past and I am really keen to get more involved with the running of the sessions!

Alokya Balagamage

I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part the TBH scheme so far where it has certainly been rewarding to see the children’s enthusiasm and lovely getting to know the other volunteers too! Having maintained a regular and consistent attendance, I feel that I have a good understanding of the scheme and its requirements which would put me in good stead to increase my involvement by taking on the role of officer next year.

In doing so, it would be wonderful to aid with developing the scheme such as by continuing to add the station on hand hygiene to the original rotation or introducing some basic first aid (perhaps incorporating it into the dressing up station). A further idea is to consider designing a more advanced selection of activities to include those in older years (e.g. rotating through teaching about the systems of the body). We may also look for ways to raise money and allow investment into new resources to replace those which have sustained some wear.

Overall, I would continue to be enthusiastic about this initiative and encourage others to take part- particularly those from non-medical courses- and am certainly looking forward to volunteering once again when restrictions ease!

In addition to regularly attending sessions and getting to grips with the general organisation of the scheme, I feel that my experiences with event organisation and hosting with other societies would also prove useful in the role of TBH officer. As these skills may translate to being able to assist with making arrangements with the schools as well as running the weekly sessions, I believe that I would be a good position to also help with the day-to-day admin, and other background work in order to succeed in this supportive role.

Emilia Clacy

Hi, I am Emilia, a second year medical student. I am really bubbly and outgoing and think the Teddy bear hospital scheme is both rewarding and important. I am very passionate about paediatrics and enjoy being able to spend time with the children.

I am very organised and have good time keeping skills, so I will be able to help organise events, reply to emails and more.

I would aim to continue the scheme being fun, well organised, and informative. During the pandemic, I took part in making informative videos and photos aimed for children. I believe this is a good alternative if Covid restrictions continue next year.

I have been a member of the society for two years now and would like to become more involved. This year I took part in the teddy bear hospital scheme by producing videos and photos.

I was a head prefect in secondary school so I am able to organise my time well and organise events.