Training For New Clown Doctors

This training has as its aim the teaching of knowledge that is indispensable for the Clown Doctors’ work to be properly carried out in the hospital. The selection stage, using a questionnaire and personal interview, is followed by a theoretical phase, which is developed through four modules lasting four days each. Next, the candidates make four programmed observational visits to the hospitals and then up to twelve visits as trainee Clown Doctors, the exact number depending on the level of maturity reached by the artist. Throughout this period, the trainee Clown Doctor works under the supervision of an experienced Clown Doctor. Each stage is assessed and allows the Fundación to confirm its choice of candidates.

Medical knowledge

The training program neither pretends nor aims to train therapists. Nonetheless, it is especially important that potential Clown Doctors are aware of the reality of life experienced in a hospital. This is why the Fundación's management particularly insists that all artists who are being trained possess sufficient medical awareness in order to work in a paediatric ward, and to understand the life of a child in a hospital . They must also understand the overall rules by which the hospital is governed, including its regulations and standards regarding hygiene.

Educational goals

At the end of the training program, the potential Clown Doctors:
- Will be aware of and will possess an understanding of the structural and functional organisation of a paediatric ward, including the role of the health-care staff and the hospital personnel.
- Will be aware of and will know how to apply hygiene-related principles and rules in hospitals.
- Will be aware of the different types of isolation policy and the necessary behaviour when dealing with children in those circumstances.
- Will be aware of and will know how to apply the principles and rules pertaining to personal hygiene, and general safety precautions.
- Will know how to apply principles related to ethics and conduct, to adopt effective and respectful behaviour towards others.
- Will recognise children's rights and the role played by supporting institutions.
- Will be aware of and possess an understanding of the dynamics of the parental relationships with the child.
- Will be aware of children's reaction (at different ages), in the face of illness, pain, hospitalisation, uncertainty, care and death.
- Will be aware of evaluation models for evaluating pain in children.
- Will recognise his or her own emotions with regard to the sick children and their families.
- Will know how to use the documentation provided by the nurse, in order to extract information which will be of use during their visit.

Artistic goals

The objective of the artistic training module is to:
- Train Clown Doctors (Doctores Sonrisa), not clowns;
- Allow artists to discover their own character;
- Teach them to channel their emotions, to improve their general perception and to develop their senses, to establish a relationship of trust and respect;
- Enable them to discover the function, work and reality of the Clown Doctors.

Evaluation

After having participated in all the training modules, the trainee Clown Doctor is assessed. The Fundación Theodora has created procedures for evaluation of the candidates. The aim of this assessment is to measure the candidate’s aptitude for carrying out the role of a Clown Doctor and is the result of a dialogue between the candidate and the trainer.
Trainee Clown Doctors are evaluated on the basis of:
- their sensitivity;
- their emotional maturity;
- their ability to listen, their empathy, and what motivates them;
- their artistic capabilities;
- their knowledge of the hospital environment;
- their professional development;
- their availability to work for and with the Fundación Theodora.