“Hey? Wanna show off your bum for a calendar?”

Imagine you are Teena Robinson, integrated care co-ordinator at Vernon Jubilee Hospital, who is spearheading a fundraising calendar to support the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation’s $7 million Building a Tower of Care campaign, and you have to ask doctors to pose in a “newly designed hospital gown” that exposes the buttocks.

“That was a difficult one to pull off,” laughed Robinson, talking about the new calendar, titled “2010: A Medical Oddity,” that is now available to support the Tower of Care campaign.

“That photo was the most challenging, it was difficult for me, as a female, to approach the male doctors.”

The photo, which graces September 2010, is one of 16 black and white photos in the calendar taken by photographer Erin Pritchard which show VJH doctors, nurses and support staff in a variety of humourous situations in and around the hospital as the new tower goes up behind them.

The idea for the calendar came to Robinson when a co-worker brought in one done in 2000 at VJH.

“I thought it was hilarious,” said Robinson. “Really witty, funny and just silly. It was a great way to put a face to a lot of the doctors. I thought with the new tower coming up, it would be great to do this again, 10 years later, as a fundraiser for the new tower.”

Robinson attended one of the doctors’ monthly staff meetings at VJH and pitched the idea to about 50 physicians in attendance. Most agreed it was a great idea, including Dr. Bill Sanders, who led the calendar project in 2000.

Sanders, who appears in the July 2010 photo with three other colleagues in a photo titled “Cycle Therapy,” and many of his colleagues said they’d be happy to be models, but didn’t have the time to oversee the project.

Not wanting to let the idea go, Robinson began cold calling doctors to pose for the calendar.

“I called them at home and told them what I was doing,” said Robinson. “Some were quite receptive, others were like ‘oh, you don’t want my ugly mug in the calendar.’”

Robinson used some of her own ideas and some that never got used in 2000 – the Cycle Therapy, for example, which has Sanders and colleagues Allan Meyer and David Screen weeping uncontrollably in front of their parked bicycles while being comforted on the grass at Polson Park by Brian Chai – for the calendar.

A total of 5,000 calendars have been produced, and they are now available for $10 each, making them a great holiday gift idea.

The calenders are available at the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation office, inside the front doors of the hospital, or at Bean Scene Coffee House, Vernon Art Gallery gift shop, Schubert Centre, The Morning Star, Medical Walk In Clinics at the Fruit Union Plaza, Superstore locations and just maybe at your doctor’s office.