Langley-based Trinity Western University, recently announced that one of its alumni, Dr. Simon Moore, has published two children’s picture books that aim to teach safety risks and developmental milestones to parents.
The books, ‘Mommy is Becoming a Family Doctor’ and ‘Daddy is Becoming a Family Doctor,’ not only share the story of a medical school graduate training to be a family physician, but also include hidden clues in the illustrations that point to childhood developmental milestones and teach safety risks to parents.
Dr. Moore, a family doctor in Vancouver explains that the illustrations in the books aim to teach important safety tips to parents.
For example, in one illustration, “there is a crib with a drinking bottle in the bed. This is designed to teach that babies shouldn’t be put to bed with a bottle as this can lead to tooth decay,” said Dr. Moore.
The idea for the books came to him one day as he, a parent himself, was considering the huge challenge it can be for medical students to balance studying while spending time with their children. As he wrestled with the thoughts of balancing parenthood and career, the idea for his first book was born.
“My kids helped me with the planning and the illustrations, and I think it helped them realize what a challenging journey it can be to train as a physician,” said Moore.
He hopes that other children who read the book will also be able to recognize the challenges of having a parent who is away at night and be proud of what their parent is doing.
Dr. Moore, who is also a teaching physician, explains that he is always looking for ways to help people learn in a fun and engaging way.
“Every year, I travel to multiple cities to teach doctors how to prepare for their family medicine licensing exam,” he shared.
Moore also co-founded ‘The Review Course’ for students studying for the Canadian Certification Examination in Family Medicine.
Trinity Western University played a significant role in Dr. Moore’s journey to becoming a doctor and an author.
He attributes his passion for teaching to his time at the university where he taught a chemistry lab and was able to present complex concepts to students in memorable ways.
“Years later, a former student approached me and told me that they remembered me holding up balloons to try and explain the concept of a specific atomic reaction,” recalls Dr. Moore.
“It was a really magical moment seeing students grasping the concept while I was waving balloons in the air, but also seeing that it had stuck in their memory years down the road. I’ve been trying to make that magic happen ever since.”
Moore is thankful to Trinity Western University for providing him the foundation he needed to complete medical school in 2010 and for helping him recognize the power of teaching and sharing knowledge with the next generation.
His books, Mommy is Becoming a Family Doctor and Daddy is Becoming a Family Doctor, are available for purchase on his website, where parents and medical students can also find more information about how the books can be used as a study tool for the Canadian Certification Examination in Family medicine.
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