This visit was the climax of many months which saw over 50 Hebrew University medical students come to SHALVA to visit and get a tour. The visits at SHALVA helped the students understand the proper attitude and demeanor they should have when treating children with special needs and helping their parents. In the not so distant future these students will be treating children with special needs and the goal of the course was to expose the upcoming medical professionals to children with special needs in the proper way.
The "Man and Medicine" course is a valuable program which encourages doctors to learn about a different sector of the population. Therefore, after the students heard about the children they wanted to come back and meet the children themselves. The future doctors split up into different groups to volunteer in SHALVA's After School Activity Center. In every group there were a number of students who met with the children and learned that they are adorable and clever in addition to having special needs. The children learned that doctors can be nice and friendly and not people to be afraid of. From an outsiders perspective, it was truly special seeing the interaction.
