Teddy Bear Clinic Isn't All Fun and Games in Athens, Ga.
The clinic is one of several innovative initiatives from the Georgia Health Sciences University-University of Georgia (GHSU-UGA) Medical Partnership program.
Next spring, two dozen first-year medical students will don their white coats, grab their stethoscopes and head not for a local clinic or hospital but again for Alps Elementary School on the West side of Athens. They’ll also pack stuffed animals as they did this past October. When the Teddy Bear Clinic gets underway, preschoolers guided by future doctors will minister to the ills and injuries of stuffed bears, dogs, cats, pigs, horses and whatever else the med students brought in. “It’s fun and also a good thing to do for both our students and the community,” said Lara Smith, a second-year medical student who leads community service activities at the Georgia Health Sciences University-University of Georgia (GHSU-UGA) Medical Partnership …
