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Referring to the bedside teaching plan for junior patients (teaching in hospitals), a MUMS faculty member said that implementation of the plan is effective in accelerating children’s recovery process and they also pay more attention to physicians’ orders. Interviewed by Webda, Tayyebeh Reyhani noted, “Teaching junior patients in hospitals was approved by university officials and implemented as a research project in health centers. Eligible teachers should be able to instruct pupils of all six elementary grades, and emotionally support children. The plan is now being executed for elementary school children and is planned to be improved and expanded, if possible, to cover high school students as well.” She continued, “Teachers either attend at the bedside of students who are unable to leave their beds, or gather all the students (separately based on grades, or all grades together) if the hospital has an appropriate place for this purpose, as is the case with Dr. Sheikh Hospital, for example.” “Participants are advised to be in contact with the student's teacher to be informed about his or her educational record and emotional status. They should go to the hospital once a day - sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening, and sometimes they may omit a day’s work; it all depends on the teacher’s schedule,” she added. Dr. Reyhani referred to reduced anxiety, better compliance with physician’s orders, faster recovery from illness, and emotionally helping both children and their parents as positive outcomes of the plan. She also referred to collaboration and assistance of the Department of Education in implementing the plan, saying, “They participate by providing educational packages, including schoolbooks as well as educational aid materials for the 6 elementary school grades, and small gifts.” “There are ideas that, if implemented, will make the project more successful. Department of Education can hire teachers specifically for the plan who, instead of going to school, are paid to go to the hospital everyday at a specified time. This will bring about much better outcomes. In collaboration with Department of Education, the university can send nursing students to schools in the form of apprenticeships to acquaint them with the physical and emotional condition of school pupils,” she said. Dr. Reyhani finally noted, “Special, unordinary physicians are needed for the plan to be more successfully implemented. There are families who don’t have sufficient financial resources and face difficulties in treatment of their children. It will be better to choose physicians willing to participate in charity activities, or the university may collaborate with Department of Education in selecting physicians to address problems of deprived student patients. Optimal execution of this plan and implementing new ideas will require two working groups to be formed, which in turn needs collaboration between ministries of Education and Health.” |