Hospitals then and now
Habiba reads about ancient Alexandria and dreams that she is in its great library. She walks past shelves full of scrolls. Scholars from many places talk about numbers, the stars and medicine. She wakes up and wonders why this library mattered. It mattered because it gathered knowledge in one place and people from many places could share ideas. Hospitals have changed over time. Hundreds of years ago, big hospitals were built in Cairo. They had different parts for different illnesses, doctors who taught students, a library, clean beds, and notes on each patient. Today a hospital has departments, such as surgery and children’s care, a pharmacy, a laboratory, an emergency room, doctors, nurses and technicians. In Aswan, on the bank of the Nile, there is a modern heart hospital that treats patients and trains doctors and nurses.
| Hundreds of years ago | Today | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | big hospitals in Cairo | in many cities; a heart hospital in Aswan |
| Teaching | doctors taught students | doctors and nurses are trained |
| Notes | a card for each patient | a computer record |
A library dream. Write or tell the dream of Habiba in the great library: what does she see and hear, and why would people travel there? Then make a Then and Now chart for hospitals with three rows. With a grown-up, talk about who works in a hospital and what each person does. If you have visited a clinic, tell about what you saw. Remember: do not name private patients.