Child Life Specialist

Department Overview

The Child Life Specialist will support hospitalized pediatric patients on our Pediatric Acute Care Medical unit (9N). The Pediatric Acute Care Medical Unit (PACM) provides Acute level care for patients 0-18 years of age, across a large spectrum of services to include medicine, pulmonology, gastroenterology, endocrine, family medicine, neurology and behavioral health. Our team approach is family centered and Multidisciplinary. Collaboration with child life, respiratory therapy, social work, school teachers, pharmacists, Psych and therapy services, to provide support to our admitted patients and their families.

Our facility provides private rooms for patients/families, playrooms, family lounge, classroom and an outside courtyard. This CLS will promote healthy growth and development, reduce anxiety of hospitalization, increase coping and emotional adjustment to the medical setting. Play and normalization are also key components of the work on this unit and within the Child Life Specialist role. Hospital events such as Holiday celebrations, programming and intake of year round donations included in the CL role.

• Maintains and supports the philosophy of family centered care by helping the patients and families cope with the hospital experience.
• Assesses and documents the emotional and psychosocial developmental needs, action and follow-up plan written in the patient’s record.
• Promotes coping with the hospital experience through expression of feelings in developmentally age appropriate, therapeutic activities.
• Provides preoperative teaching, post op support and pre-op tours.
• Provides emotional support to patients and family during medical/nursing procedures.
• Provides child development expertise in the development of educational material for patients and families.
• Participates in care conferences held to assess patient needs and receive suggestions for intervention from other care conference members.
• Identifies needs of all children incorporating developmental level, mobility, chronicity of illness and psychosocial factors to facilitate activities fostering mastery of healthcare experiences.
• Adapt play materials to meet individual needs.
• Explains at the child’s level of understanding, the sequence, nature, and reason for medical procedures and routines; serves as a supportive non-medical person during medical procedures.
• Promotes positive guest relations with the staff, patients, volunteers and visitors.
• Assists in training and supervision of volunteers to promote positive interactions for patients and families with volunteers.
• Provides emotional, intellectual and social support for patients.
• Provides grief support for families.

• Participates in associations related to Child Life and maintains knowledge on current trends in Child Life.
• Shares child development knowledge and communication skills with staff and providers as opportunities arise.
• Orients patient care staff, volunteers and students to the needs of hospitalized children and adolescents.
• Acts as a resource person for staff in identifying patient and family needs under stress and crisis.
• Participates as a member of an organizational, multidisciplinary committee as possible.
• Role models professional competence and respectful communications.
• Commits to teamwork in the Child Life Program through positive communication and collaboration.
• Assists in preparation and dissemination of information representing the hospital and Child Life Program to community groups, organizations and the news media.

• Maintains necessary medical play supplies and playrooms in good working order.
• Responds to requests and donations of the community, accepts donations brought to DCH.
• Maintains a supply of books/pamphlets for grief support, general information regarding hospitalization of children and other materials as patient needs dictate.
• Processes donations including donor relations, organization, storage and/or distribution of donations.
• Uses fiscal stewardship in requesting and ordering program materials.
• Ma…