Doctor Teaches Fayetteville Schoolchildren About Health and Wellness
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With school-age children of his own‚ Dr. Ken Bellian‚ a Fayetteville ear‚ nose and throat physician‚ didn’t hesitate when he was asked to help teach Cumberland County elementary students about health and wellness.
For the past year‚ Bellian has visited kindergarten and first-grade classrooms‚ using a 5-foot-tall biologically correct stuffed doll to teach the students about the lungs‚ heart‚ kidneys‚ intestines and trachea‚ and how they work.
“ Teaching is familiar to me. A lot of what I do is educate patients‚” Bellian says‚ adding that about half of his patients are children. “I enjoy teaching‚ and teach twice a year at a physician’s assistant program. I’m also involved in residency program teaching as well.”
Bellian says he mainly talks to the kindergarten students‚ but is able to incorporate what first-graders are studying into his time with them. He also allows plenty of time for question and answer sessions.
“ The children usually have questions that pertain to what’s going on in their lives‚” he says. “They range from questions about broken bones and how you get them fixed to questions that I am certainly more familiar with – about sore throats and ear infections. I’ve had one question‚ and only one‚ about how babies are made. I try to answer the ones I can and leave ones like that one to their parents‚” he says.
Bellian‚ who moved his family to Fayetteville five years ago‚ will usually spend an entire day in the schools‚ sometimes talking to as many as five or six classes.
“ Fayetteville is a nice place‚ and it’s a good size community‚ an appropriate size to get involved and make a difference‚” he says. “It’s part of my responsibility as a parent and as a citizen in this community to continue to develop Fayetteville as a wonderful place to live and work.”
As a physician‚ he says‚ he feels it’s important to be involved in educating young people in the community.
“ I hope my talking to them makes it easier for them to understand about their bodies‚” he says‚ “and also easier for them to come to a physician.”
Story by Nancy Humphrey
Photo by Antony Boshier
