With a stuffed monkey as their patient, Kimberly Durso of Brooklyn, N.Y. (left) and Meghan McGinn of Breezy Point, N.Y. (center) teach a young patron of Marlboro Free Library the basics of blood pressure.
Nearly a dozen enthusiastic children learned the “bear necessities” of medical care at a recent Teddy Bear Care clinic at Marlboro Free Library, hosted by Linda Kelly, assistant professor of Nursing at Mount Saint Mary College, and several students.
Mount volunteers Kimberly Durso of Brooklyn, N.Y., Meghan McGinn of Breezy Point, N.Y., and Morgan Wagner of Brooklyn, N.Y. showed the kids how doctors and nurses use stethoscopes, bandages, blood pressure cuffs, and more to keep patients happy and healthy.
“We’re promoting healthcare education and community engagement,” explained Kelly. “Sometimes children get scared at a doctor’s office when they see the stethoscope or other unfamiliar equipment, so this allows them to get comfortable with healthcare and nursing professionals.”
She added, “This is one of our service-learning programs in the college’s School of Nursing. We’re hoping to bring the service component of the Mount out to the community more and more.”
Kelly hopes to host more teddy clinics throughout the coming months. For example, Mount Nursing majors will once again take on children’s fuzzy friends as their patients at an upcoming Teddy Bear Care clinic in November, this time at Bishop Dunn Memorial School in Newburgh.
The Mount’s service-focused approach to education goes hand-in-hand with helping professions like Nursing, Kelly noted. Mount Nursing students enjoy state-of-the-art simulation labs and clinical relationships with more than 40 area hospitals. The Mount’s passionate faculty are dedicated to the success of both their undergraduate and graduate students.