Child Life Specialist Same Day Surgery

Job Description

Interacts directly with pediatric patients, families and other health team members and facilitates age‑appropriate interactions and activities to help make the health care experience easier for patients and families. Reduces patient and family distress, increases effective patient and family coping, fosters patient independence, and promotes optimum development. Provides supervision to volunteers, child‑life pre‑internship students and child‑life assistants.

Click on the video link below to see “A Day in the Life of a Child Life Specialist”.

$3000 Sign‑On Bonus for new hires.

• Pay Rate:
  Based on experience.
• Shift Details:
  Full‑time (40 hrs/wk) Monday – Friday 6:30am–3:00pm. This position is direct patient care within the hospital.
• Department:
  St George Regional Hospital Child Life – the hospital has three full‑time Certified Child Life Specialists positions within the Pediatric Unit, Emergency Department, and Same Day Surgery and one full‑time Child Life Assistant. This position is for the Same Day Surgery unit.
• Additional Information:
  Previous Emergency Department, bereavement support and trauma experience in the Child Life field is preferred.
• Required Qualifications
  • Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Degree will be verified.
  • Documentation of a successfully completed 600‑hour internship supervised by a Child Life Specialist.
  • Child Life Certification from the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP). Documentation required. OR eligible for Child Life Certification (to be obtained within 15 months of hire date).
  • Experience with pediatric patients in a medical, hospital or behavioral health setting.
  • Experience in Child Life Core Competencies which include but are not limited to:
    1) Establishing supportive relationships
    2) Meeting needs of child and family members, with a focus on social, emotional, and cognitive development.
    3) Providing education to and communicating with children, families, and team members
    4) Providing coping support and comfort management
    5) Guiding children in therapeutic play techniques
    6) Ongoing assessment and written documentation of clinical care.
  • Computer experience in word processing, spreadsheets, and databases or similar applications.

• Accurately assess, prioritize, and document pediatric patient and family care.
• Develop, implement, and evaluate effective pediatric patient and family‑centered health care plans.
• Provide developmentally appropriate education, psychological procedural preparation, coping support, comfort management, and play opportunities to pediatric patients and families.
• Participate in selection, supervision, and training of new hires, students and volunteers.
• Provide education for staff (e.g., in‑services, newsletter articles, etc.).
• Assist with community outreach and Foundation partnerships.
• Adhere to Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) Child Life Code of Ethics.
• Meet requirements outlined in child life department expectations.

• Pediatrics
• Training and mentoring
• Writing documentation
• Communication
• Relationship building
• Taking initiative
• Critical thinking
• Teamwork
• Growth mindset
• Accountability

• Master’s degree preferred.
• Registered Behavior Technician or behavioral health experience preferred.
• Experience working with Autism and related disabilities or behavioral challenges preferred.
• One year experience with pediatric patients in a medical, hospital or behavioral health setting.
• Work experience as a child‑life assistant.
• Experience as a child‑life pre‑internship/practicum student.
• Supervising volunteers while working with children and adolescents.
• Spanish speaking.

• Frequent interactions with patient care providers, patients, and visitors that require the employee to verbally communicate as well as hear and understand spoken information, alarms, needs, and assess issues quickly and accurately, particularly during emergency situations to maintain safety.
• Ongoing need for the employee to see and read information, documents, monitors, identify equipment and supplies, and be able to assess customer needs.
• Manual dexterity of hands and fingers to manipulate…