(Indian Express) Tabassum Barnagarwala - The sight of a foreigner dressed as a clown in Mumbai's JJ Hospital is rare. As Israeli Nir Raz, 50, entered the pediatric ward, his fake puppy ears flapping, nose painted black and an animated smile lighting his face, he extracted laughter from each cot that he visited. Raz is a medical clown at Schneider Children's Hospital in Petah Tikva in Israel. The clowns use entertainment, magic tricks, games and conversation to ease the fears of patients. "In hospitals, patients find themselves in an unfamiliar environment. The hospital gown and long treatment can depress them and their families. I try to play with them, create characters out of diseases to make the treatment process easier," Raz said. In Israel, one has to undergo a two-year course to become a medical clown, and today almost every hospital has a medical clown to handle stress and trauma.
2019-12-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive