Val,

First off, I want to say I absolutely love your Buzzy Cards and use them in about every procedure I am drawn into on short notice. They are so valuable that I actually keep them on me at all time with a key chain, and my nurses have asked me numerous times if they could get one for their badges as well!

I met you at this year's conference and you gave me three cards to test out in the Emergency Room I work in, and now I have some feedback for you.

I will start with the Penguin Card:

18-3 Years Questions:

Question #1. I would change the wording to be less confusing for this young age, by rewording it to ask, "What color shirt is ONE of the penguins wearing?"

Question #3. This question has confused some of the patients as well, because they hear slide, and they think they are looking for a penguin sliding down a sliding board. So instead, I would word it to ask how many penguins are on their tummy?

Question #4. Now this may be just me being picky, but we aren't we trying to promote healthy choices with the kids we see? Instead of asking what penguin is drinking a soda, I would ask them what penguin is drinking water, lemonade, juice, etc.

3-6 Years Questions:

Question #6. It is very hard to see the toes on the penguins.

Question #7. Again, it is very hard to see the brown hair on the penguin on the bottom right of the card, and there is no answer on the question side.

7 Years and Older Questions:

Question #8. Most of the patients that I have tested this question on do not know what the word "inverted" means.

Question #9. Many patients get frustrated with this question, because they expect that there is a right answer. Getting frustrated actually brings them back to reality and focuses back on the procedure at hand.


The Flower Card: I have to say this was my favorite and easiest to use with patients, the only suggestion I have is to make the flowers and details on them much bigger so patents can get a clearer picture of them, maybe even eliminating a few flowers to make the others larger and or use more contrasting colors.

18-3 Years Questions:

I found all these questions very straightforward and easy to find.

3-6 Years Questions:

Question #7. Kids had difficulty locating the flower with the mustache on the bottom right corner of the card, because it does not look like the other one on the card.

7 Years and Older Questions:

Questions #8 & #10. No kids have ever gotten these questions right because: (1) they cannot see the rash on the flower, and (2) the details on these flowers are so tiny that they are not able to count their attributes.


The Cow Card:

18-3 Years Questions:

Question #2. Kids sometimes had a hard time finding the pirate cow, because, just like the flowers, the detail on the cows are very hard to see since they are so small.

Question #3. Just like question #2, the lipstick detail is very hard to find just because how faint the lipstick is.

3-6 Years Questions:

Question #5. Kids found it hard to find the tooth on the brown and white cow, because there is very little contrast against the tooth and the white on the cow.

Question #6. The pompom is hard to locate, because it is too small and lacks detail.

Question #7. Kids have a hard time seeing that the pirate cow is wearing a bandana, because it looks like a hat to them.

7 Years and Older Questions:

Question #10. It is especially hard for younger kids to spot a mirror image that is the same.

All of the above feedback is just a series of suggestions based on things I found while working with my population. I looked at the attached image you sent in your e-mail and I have to say that is my favorite image out of the 3 I have used. I look forward to seeing those questions that go along with that card. I feel the more abstract the picture, the more it is going to grab kids' attention and keep them focused for longer periods of time. The questions do not have to be to difficult either; it is just an easy and quick way for them to escape from what is happening to them for a few minutes and focus their energy on something else in the meantime.

Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to tryout these new cards, and I look forward to using your new cards in the future!




Jennifer D. Ellis, CCLS, HS-BCP
Pediatric Emergency Department
Johns Hopkins Children's Center