In the summer of 2012, I put my background in toy design to use working for the Office of Pediatric Surgical Education and Innovation (OPSEI) at the BC Children’s Hospital. As one of the Team Leader of the TEACH project, I helped organize a research project which involved designing toys that doctors can use to teach children about their medical condition.

We created a range of toys including coloring books, paper cut-out dolls, plastic models and hand puppets. My favorite toy being the “Ostomy Doll”, a cute and cuddly teddy bear designed to teach children with gastrostomies how to take proper care of their ostomy. The project also involved conducting research through surveys to evaluate each toy for their effectiveness as a communication tool, educational resource and entertainment value.

This project was presented and well received at the Canadian Conference on Medical Education (CCME) in Quebec City in 2013.

OPSEI Student Teach Team: Michiko Maruyama, Evan Shao, Michael Yong and Jaspreet Lidder

 

 

 

INNOVATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING:
Medical Students as Patient Educators

BY: Michiko Maruyama, Evan Shao, Michael Yong and Jaspreet Lidder

… The Office of Pediatric Surgical Education and Innovation (OPSEI) at the BC Children’s Hospital is a program that connects medical students with mentors to work on various summer projects, ranging anywhere from clinical research like patient chart reviews to laboratory work.

Under the fitting name, TEACH, this summer’s project focused on the education of patients and families within the Department of Pediatric Surgery at Children’s hospital. One of these procedures is the creation of an ostomy, where the intestine is divided and one end is brought through an opening in the abdominal wall up to the skin where the intestinal contents drain into a bag. To help children with ostomies remember which types of foods may cause intestinal blockage, Maruyama was involved with creating “mini-books” that patients can cut out and fold to read.

To read more, click here.