You're 4 years old. And you have to go to the doctor's office. It's much less scary to amble into an exam room painted with "Dora the Explorer," colorful animals and trees rather than a sterile white exam room for grown-ups.

Thanks to the Physician Assistant Studies Class of 2011, another clinic exam room at the Patient Care Center is resplendent with kid-friendly art. PA students have participated in the Pediatric Clinic's Adopt-a-Room Program for the past four years. Seven rooms have been transformed with themes including "Green Eggs and Ham," "Under the Sea" and "In the Jungle."

PA students recently spent a weekend laboriously painting walls, carefully stenciling in the characters and then coloring them. Not exactly child's play. But something a child could appreciate.

"The goal is to put the child at ease," said Glorianna Iloff, a PA student from Fort Worth who wants to work in pediatrics some day. "This makes a doctor's visit a lot less scary for them - they walk into something fun."

In the photo
Front row left to right: Jonathan Flores, Glorianna Iloff, Leigh Anne Russell
Second row: Jillian Badger-Reyes, Danielle Forte, Lacy Eaton, Crystal Walker, Christal Howerton
Back row: Tim Darmstedter, Margarita Sandoval, Natalie Smith, Tim Loerke
Not pictured: Heather Woodin

The group also had some help from friends and family members Rick Iloff, Ramona Hunley and Jacqueline Murdock.

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