Bothell’s Fernwood Elementary students got some hands-on surgical experience — with teddy bears, that is — May 10.

Virginia Mason Medical Center’s perioperative nurse educator and registered nurse Tracey Jones and other Virginia Mason staff volunteering their time hosted a Teddy Bear Hospital as part of a national effort through the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) to reach out to school-aged children, share information about perioperative nursing and reduce anxiety of surgery.

Each second- and third-grade student brought to class his or her own teddy bear or stuffed animal to be a surgical patient. The students “scrubbed in,” learned to don surgical masks, caps and gloves. Then the stuffed patients were escorted through the surgical process including check in, triage, induction, operating room and recovery. Each bear and child received a certificate of bravery in surgery.

Students at Evergreen Academy in Bothell will also host a Teddy Bear Hospital May 21 for first- through sixth-grade students.