PedsAcademy: Future Teachers Serving Kids in the Hospital
Carlos Aleman knows what it鈥檚 like to endure long hospital stays as a child, missing Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations, family, friends聽鈥 and even school.
![Carlos Aleman PEDS](/well-beyond-medicine/future-teachers-serving-kids/_jcr_content/root/container/container/basicblock/image.coreimg.jpeg/1692302085440/block-peds-academy-02.jpeg)
He was diagnosed at age 4 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and at age 7 spent nearly a year as an in-patient recovering from a bone marrow transplant.聽Today cancer-free and inspired to help kids going through similar hardships, Aleman, now 23, got some recent hands-on experience from an innovative internship program at Nemours Children鈥檚 Hospital, Florida.
Since 2018, our first-of-its kind 笔别诲蝉础肠补诲别尘测庐 has trained more than 120 student teachers who have completed undergraduate courses at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Over 12 weeks, the interns provide one-on-one and classroom instruction to young patients while learning how to support children with chronic health conditions.
鈥淚t takes a special kind of person to work with kids with special needs, especially if you don鈥檛 have someone in your family to learn from,鈥 says Carlos. 鈥淎 lot of patients may be tired, not feeling up for school, but you鈥檝e got to meet them where they are. If they鈥檙e giving you 20 percent, you give your 120 percent.鈥
![Carlos Aleman PEDS with patient](/well-beyond-medicine/future-teachers-serving-kids/_jcr_content/root/container/container/columnsplitter_copy_/col1/image.coreimg.jpeg/1692815600062/round-peds-academy-01.jpeg)
笔别诲蝉础肠补诲别尘测庐 is part of our Hospital School Program.
To arrange for your child to participate, talk to your social worker or our nursing staff. With your permission, our hospital-based teacher may contact your child鈥檚 regular classroom teacher to coordinate assignments during the hospital stay. Instruction can take place at your child鈥檚 bedside or in our hospital classroom.聽
For more information on the internship, email PedsAcademy@Nemours.org, or see our toolkit for starting your own internship program.聽