I recently discovered a fabulous app that I want to share with you all, Okee in Medical Imaging. Medical Imaging is one of the hospital departments that the majority of patients interact with since x-rays, CTs and MRIs are often the first step when assessing and diagnosing a patient. As a Child Life Specialist in Medical Imaging, my job is to prep patients for imaging studies and then help them cope during those procedures. We have many patients who are scared of x-rays and CTs, although nothing touches them or hurts during these pictures. My role is to talk to the patients about what is going to happen and help them realize that it won’t hurt, but I have limited time in the outpatient setting to do this. Today’s Fabulous Find Friday was something I found that I want to encourage parents/caregivers and other Child Life Specialists to use to educate and prepare patients for an upcoming trip to Medical Imaging.
This fabulous app is called Okee in Medical Imaging. Okee was created by the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne to help parents prepare their children for visiting medical imaging through educational videos and interactive games. These games encourage patients to practice skills like holding still and taking deep breaths. The app also includes real pictures of what the “cameras” might look like. Although this app was designed specifically with the Royal Children’s Hospital in mind, the lessons it teaches patients and it’s ability to normalize medical imaging procedures applicable to everyone.
Okee in Medical Imaging is available in the App Store and also on Google Play.