I am a pediatrician who cares for very ill children with lung diseases (like cystic fibrosis) at a Children's Hospital. I have been using a TT, a penny/dime shell, and the French drop for a year now to entertain my kids and to set them at ease while I examine them. I just took a plunge and bought the ultimate beginner kit so that I will have something fresh for patients who see me frequently and now ask me for tricks. Also the reputation of my limited magic skills has prompted our Pediatric Residency training director to ask me if I would be willing to teach some of the Interns and Residents how to perform a few simple tricks that they can use. I would like to help (have I started something here?) despite my lack of confidence.

I would love to have suggestions from you professionals for appropriate tricks to entertain children ages 4-18. Limitations:
[1] I do this during an examination so it needs to be close work.
[2] All tricks must be small enough to fit easily in the pocket of my white coat (like the TT)
[3] There should be minimum or no set up time required. These should look spontaneous. I am not doing a show.
[4] I am a bit of a klutz (OK, a lot of a klutz) and to make matters worse I have limited practice time.

Thanks from me and from the residents and kids at Brenner Children's Hospital, Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC.

Bruce Rubin

I think your best bet was that kit you bought.

Yeah that kit is great. You might also want to try browsing the site for some coin magic.

I would recommend some sponge magic. Learn a few basic sleights, which you might already know, and you will always be able to rely on several easily accessible effects with one item. Maybe some normal sponge balls and some bunnies!

I also want to say that you are doing a good thing! It is an awesome idea to incorporate magic into your type of profession in particular!

Side FX DVD: the only props you'll need to perform Side-Fx are common objects found in any exam room, clinic or hospital
http://www.elmwoodmagic.com/?nd=full&key=2294
Content Includes:

Magical entrances
45-second ENT exam
Dime through glove
It floats!
Cut and restored stethoscope
Finger off glove
Quarter and penny
Coin through handkerchief
Leaping Band-Aid
Needle through glove
And, Peter cottontail

see if this is what you were looking for

You mentioned you use a TT. You ought to get Darwins Encyclopedia TT DVD, it has so many different tricks and effects. I just wish the picture on the cover of the DVD was different. I'm not sure if you perform the same trick with the TT, but there are hundreds effects with a TT. Darwins DVD will give you alot of different uses. All the effects you can then place in your pocket. Some of the effects you can get your patients involved with the trick.

I also liked what Coolguy3 said about sponge ball magic. This would be great for the kids you work with. You can carry them in your pocket and they are a great effect. You need very little practice with these. There is a video called 25 tricks with sponge balls. There is a routine with sponge balls where you can place a sponge ball in your patient's hand and have him squeeze it real hard, when he opens his hand it turns into 2.

Folding quarter, pen through dollar, toothpick through matchbox, bending nail, lip smacker, hotrod, and killer keys are some other effects that can be placed in your pocket and are very easy to do with very little practice if any.

Brubin,
It's good to see someone taking that extra effort for these kids. Instead of dreading going to the Dr's they have something to look forward too.
Once a month A bunch of us goes to Cincy's Shriner's burns hospital(Clowns). We carry a a lot of our stuff in bags and we do a lot of things from the pockets.
Two D-Lites can be used in a variety of ways. TT with lights on the tips.
A wilting flower (breath tester) of course when the kids blow on the flower nothing happens. When you do it falls over.
Changing hanky' It has two colors and the swipe of the hand makes it two other colors.
The D-Lites can be used while you are examining them, "Oh, did you know you had this in your ear?"
These things are all fairly cheap and can be put in your pockets. Best of luck and thanks once again for what you are doing.
Sluggo