Journey into Healthcare with Pediatric Tours
Hospitals can be intimidating places for anyone, especially for little ones. To help foster a positive connection with healthcare, Scheurer Health has brought back pediatric tours after a three-plus-year hiatus, inviting students from kindergarten and first grade to explore departments across the organization. These tours are all about making the hospital a less scary place and learning the importance of a hospital.
Brianna Pionk of Community Wellness and also the pediatric tour guide, discussed the importance that these tours have on our younger generation.
"I believe that taking the younger generations on tours not only helps alleviate some of the fears that they associate with the hospital, such as pain from shots or visiting sick relatives, but also educates them on all the different ways our staff can help them and others when they visit Scheurer. I also believe that these tours help to inspire them to work in healthcare when they grow up. This tour exposes them to a variety of healthcare fields and I am hopeful that they might go home from school and say 'I want to take pictures of bones when I grow up' or 'I want to be a nurse someday.'" -Brianna Pionk, Community Wellness
The first stop on the tour includes the Pediatrics wing where students learn about stethoscopes and even have the chance to listen to their heartbeat. Echos of "wows" and "I can hear my heart" came from the children's mouths. No stop is complete at Pediatrics without some stickers which all the students proudly stuck on their shirts.
After Pediatrics, the students were able to check out the Rehabilitation Department, where Jennifer Iseler, manager showed them different Physical Therapy equipment along with the therapy pool. When asked about the significance of showing the Rehabilitation department, Jennifer stated,
"Children are at increased risk for injury due to their activity levels and risk-taking nature. Furthermore, family members may have been injured at work, been involved in an motor vehicle accident (MVA), or had to have surgery of some kind. It is highly likely they, or someone they know, will require Physical, Occupational or Speech Therapy services. It is the therapist's job to keep the child engaged all while being creative in the approach on how to most effectively achieve the therapy goals for the pediatric patient." -Jennifer Iseler, Rehabilitation Services
Continuing on the tour, the children were able to visit the Diagnostic Imaging (D.I.) department so they could see what bones look like through X-rays and what an X-ray room looks like. Diagnostic Imaging System Support Technologist and Sonographer, Erin Bassett, was able to elaborate on the importance of being able to show the children the D.I. department.
"Diagnostic Imaging has a lot of different equipment, with most of that equipment being large and scary. I hope our pediatric tours through Diagnostic Imaging help ease the kiddos' fears if and when they need to get an X-ray, ultrasound or any sort of imaging in our department." -Erin Bassett, Diagnostic Imaging
The last stop on the tour is the Emergency Department or Acute Care, whichever department is available for tours that day. In either department, the students get the chance to use an oximeter and discover their oxygen levels. The students loved to be able to use the device to get a chance to look at the different wavelengths on the monitor along with the flashing oxygen level.
At the end of the tour, students are able to take home a first-aid kit and of course, snap a group photo. Brianna Pionk is ecstatic to restart these tours and is working on a high school-level tour of the hospital, as well.
"I feel that we are making a difference by offering pediatric tours. I’ve personally witnessed students being slightly nervous or afraid at the beginning of the tour and ending the tour with those fears wiped away. I’ve had students ask to hold my hand and verbally express how they were afraid. However, by the end of the tour they no longer needed to hold my hand and were eager to share their favorite part of the tour. It’s such a rewarding experience knowing I was able to help alleviate some of those fears, simply by showing them around the hospital." -Brianna Pionk, Community Wellness
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