Teddy Bear Island Clinic makes its way to M.U. Lujan Elementary School

The Guam Community College in partnership with Chalan Amte, SIFA Learning Academy Charter School, and the University of Guam’s American Medical Student Association, made their way down to the southern side of the island—bringing furry friends and a zest for learning to students. 

Students at M.U. Lujan Elementary were in for a beary special surprise Friday—donning white coats and stepping into the role of physicians as their school library transformed into a mini-medical clinic for the Teddy Bear Island Clinic. Now in its fourth year, the program made its way to Yona—bringing the hands-on healthcare experience closer to students in Guam’s southern communities and expanding access for young learners.

The Teddy Bear Island Clinic introduces children to healthcare by guiding their plush patients through checkups and procedures. By letting students play doctor, organizers hope to take the fear out of medical visits—so kids leave feeling informed, confident, and a little more warm and fuzzy about seeing a doctor in the future.

Co-founder of the clinic, Sabrina Zhi, says the goal is simple, explaining, “The idea comes from just trying to mitigate, or lower down the fear of medicine or going to the doctor, or just the unknown.”

Helping guide students through those unknowns is Arlette Fojas, a pre-med student from Guam currently attending the University of Hawai‘i. She walks students through different modules—from mris to physical exams—mirroring a real clinic experience.

“We start with PP and interview, we give them the white coat and the bear, we use the sanitizer, glove up, and then we interview them: what’s the name of your teddy bear? What is wrong with them? When did it start? Everything that occurs in a regular clinic setting," she said.

For 4th grader Khayden Refugia, his patient needed care after an accident, saying, “He fell, so I gave him a cast, and I gave him a vaccine."

Pre-med student Ethan Gumataotao says the clinic does more than teach—it sparks imagination and problem-solving. “It’s really fun to see kids' creative minds and how they investigate and figure out what’s wrong with their teddy bears. It really shows a lot of promise for them to go on with careers like being a physician," he said.

That promise already shining bright in students like Brianne Torres, who says the experience helped her see herself as a future doctor.  “I actually felt like a doctor today, actually. It was a great experience," she shared.