China Exclusive: Clown care training to bring happiness to Chinese patients

CHENGDU, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- With bulbous red noses, colorful curly wigs and exaggerated makeup, a group of 40 medical workers in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, offer patients something to smile about.

By dispensing hope and humor, these medical clowns lift the mood and inject vitality into wards.

A medical clown training center, jointly launched by Israel and China, was established at Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital Monday.

The 40 doctors and nurses in Chengdu will learn from the world's leading professional medical clowns this year.

Amir Lati, consul general with the Consulate General of Israel in Chengdu, said Israel is a world leader in medical clowning. In Israel, the profession is serious business.

Israel set up the world's first clown care course at the University of Haifa in 2006.

When we are entertained, laughing especially, the brain releases more endorphins, which can help relieve pain, and produces more leukocytes, which help the immune system, according to Lati, adding that medical clowns have been proven to help the healing process.

The trainee Chinese medical clowns will be taught medical care, psychology, physiotherapy as well as magic performance, puppet shows and acting by the Israeli practitioners.

Avital Dvory is a medical clown from Israel. She told Xinhua that behind the smiles and jokes, it can be a stressful job.

"Every year, lots of medical clowns quit as they can't handle the psychological pressure," she said.

About 80 percent of medical clowns treat children, including some who are terminally ill. "When they smile at me, I can still see the pain inside," Dvory said.

When I first started clowning, I would often cry after work and suffered from insomnia, she said.

Lati said medical clowns also help during treatment after training. For example, they may perform magic to distract children's attention when they are having a blood sample drawn.

They also visit wards along with the doctors. The doctors on duty will brief the clowns on the specific condition of each patient, so that they can devise a suitable clowning treatment. Sometimes, the attending doctors and the relatives of patients join the performance.

In the future, clown care will be extended from children to adult patients, said Lati.

The present 40 medical clowns in Chengdu were selected from hospitals across the province.

Wang Yongsheng, one of the trainee medical clowns, said clowning can help break down the perceived wall between doctors and patients

"With the help of medical clowns, patients can have more exchanges and interactions with their doctors. We can relieve pain and bring happiness to patients and bring patients and doctors closer together," Wang said.