The Teddy Bear Island Clinic returned for its third year in a row at the Micronesia Mall, teaching children about all things medicine. Each year, the free clinic flips the script, allowing kids to wear the doctor’s coat and treat their fluffy patient.

Dr. Paul Mendoza isn’t your usual doctor and his patient, also named Paul, isn’t your usual patient. The 5-year-old said when KUAM inquired what was wrong with his teddy bear, "He got hit." But this pint-sized physician and his teddy bear fit just at home at the Micronesia Mall on Sunday.

The clinic allows children to step into the role of doctors. From shots, lab work, to x-rays, the hands-on experience is teaching these kids that visiting the doctor’s office isn’t so scary after all.

Co-founder Sabrina Zhi says that’s the inspiration behind the clinic’s creation, which was started by former Guam and Saipan resident Dr. Ageline Sahagon Salas and Dr. Anthony Sunga with Science Is Fun and Awesome Learning Academy Charter School.

Dr. Zhi, a University of Guam graduate, said, "The unknown is scary. So just having that kind of minimizes exposure, like getting a shot or something simple, even seeing the x-ray machine. So to kind of play around. As you get hands-on experience, it lowers and minimizes your fear as you know what’s going on."

Zhi has witnessed the clinic’s growth over the years, from a small group of 20 volunteers to now at 70. "It’s really heartwarming to see people continuously coming back to the event and just wanting to continue to bring joy, as we see the little kids have fun at the event, and to give out free teddy bears," she said.

The hands-on experience goes both ways. Henry Kokkeler, a practical nursing student at the Guam Community College and event organizer, is one of those volunteers. He said, "A lot of my classmates want to work in pediatrics so this is a good opportunity for them to have first hand experience with talking about medical things with kids and get exposed to it."

The duo want to thank everyone who made the event a success. "We have the practical nursing students, we have the medical assistants, we have the Maths and Science Club," Kokkeler said, with Zhi adding, "And from UOG, we have the American Medical Student Association, we have the Preoptometry Club and the Pre PA club here. And definitely SIFA is like a great contributor to the program for all three years."

No doubt the day was stuffed full with precious memories for all involved.

When the young Dr. Mendoza was asked what his favorite part about the day was, he said, smiling, "Everything."