Child Life Specialist Job Description

A Resume for a Child Life Specialist Position

A child life specialist is a health care professional who works with children and families to help them navigate challenges such as hospitalization, illnesses or disabilities. They help provide emotional support by preparing children for medical procedures, including explaining diagnoses and procedures to help them understand what's happening. They teach children and their families how to deal with health care challenges.

Child life specialists can work in hospitals, as well as in home visits, community groups or early intervention programs. In the first paragraph of your letter, introduce yourself and describe what makes you a qualified candidate. You can include your name and position in the first sentence.

Child life specialists are health care professionals who help children and families navigate the process of illness, injury, disability, trauma, or hospitalization. They are part of the health care team and provide additional support to children and families to help them through a difficult time. A child life specialist's job888-607-888-607-3166 allows for a lot of creativity in developing Coping Plans.

Child life specialists are different from other health care providers in that they focus on the needs of the patient, including mental, emotional, and social needs. Child life specialists are involved with the care of children and their families. They work with a lot of health care staff.

Depending on the size of the organization they work in, child life specialists can work with a broad range of patients, or they can focus on working with a specific patient population. Child life specialists work in hospitals, but may also work in medical clinics, dental offices, schools, camps, and even the homes of their patients. Child life specialists are often on the go and are able to provide direct interventions to patients and families.

Children are more scared of going to the hospital than most people. According to the Connecticut Hospital Association, there are more than three million children hospitalized in the US. A child life specialist is supposed to help children understand medical procedures and reduce stress.

They also provide emotional support for families and siblings, take steps to encourage typical child development, and educate the medical community about the negative effects of stress on children. Child life specialists are found in children's hospitals or hospitals with large departments. Some child life specialists will work wherever they are needed in the hospital, but others will be assigned to a specific unit, such as the ER or intensive care.

Child life specialists may have additional duties. A child life specialist in the NICU can help parents create legacies of their baby's short life. A child life specialist in the ER may be able to distract a child from a scary medical procedure.

The CLC's 2012 Child Life Profession Compensation Survey shows that the average annual salary of a full-time child life specialist was $41,720 in 2012 There is a chance for advancement in the child life field, with the possibility of becoming the manager or director of a hospital's child life program. If you want to make a difference in children's lives in a whole new way, you need to know how to get started with a degree in early childhood education.

Child Life Specialists: A Family Experience in Hospital

Every parent is scared to learn that their child has a chronic or life threatening illness. Children spend extended periods of time in hospitals. Child life specialists are trained to make the experience of being in a hospital positive for the child.

The child life profession plays a role in a child's medical experience. Child life specialists help families with their emotional and family issues in medical settings. Child life specialists have a background in child development, psychology and counseling and help explain medical jargon to kids.

Child life specialists work in a variety of settings in order to provide the best care for children and families, and they exist in hospitals with large departments. St. Jude has a program that allows child life specialists to travel to a child's school to give a presentation about their illness and time in the hospital. Child life specialists work in one hospital department.

A child life specialist has a varied job that changes daily. Explaining a child's diagnosis to them in a way that's appropriate for their age and level of understanding is one of the most important roles. Child life specialists make sure children are on track during their stay in the hospital.

Child life specialists try to create friendly environments through activities in a playroom or teen room. Children are helped to express their fears about their diagnoses by using art and play. Child life specialists put on events and programs to promote socializing for teenagers in the hospital.

The Association of Child Life Professionals (ACEP)

The role of a child life specialist is important in the hospital. Child life specialists are often used by physicians to handle easing of emotional trauma and increasing health-related education of children and their families. A child life specialist is focused on easing psychological pain for children before, during, and after receiving medical care.

They will use a variety of strategies to make the child feel less uncomfortable. A child getting shots is more likely to experience anxiety. A child life specialist can make-believe or play with the child and make them feel better.

An older child may have different needs. The child life specialist may offer to listen to the pre-teen and distract them with a story, television or book. While strategies before are focused on reducing anxiety and increasing education, similar strategies can be used after a serious procedure to manage pain.

Child life specialists are often present to provide care for children when the child is not receiving medical care. Children need to be reassured when a person close to them is receiving medical care. A child life specialist will often discuss details with the child so they can better understand what is happening.

A Bachelor's degree is required to become a child life specialist. A degree in Child Life is one of the options that programs may offer. The degree received in programs with a concentration or minor may be related to Human Development.

The Child Life Specialist at the Children's Center

The Child Life Specialist will be responsible for the care of migrant youth ages 5 to 12 at the Children's Center. The successful candidate will have experience in all aspects of Child Life and strong leadership skills. The Child Life Specialist complies with all regulatory and accreditation standards and is a member of the Medical Center.

The Child Life Specialist provides direct patient care using appropriate therapeutic play and education. Collaborates with other members of the health care team to make sure patients and families receive quality care. Provides ongoing education for staff, students, and volunteers as it relates to the needs of hospitalized and ill children.

Child Life Specialists: Opportunities and Challenge

Child life specialists use their knowledge of child development, therapy, and psychology to support children and their families through illnesses and medical procedures. They do not have a hands-on medical role, but they do work in medical facilities with medical professionals and plan activities and events. A child life specialist needs to be outgoing and patient in order to help families reduce stress.

Child life specialists working in hospitals and medical centers can work rotating shifts. Child life specialists can help children understand what to expect when they need medical tests, surgeries, or other procedures that scare them. They may distract the child with a toy or talk to them while medical professionals work.

Child life specialists help individuals through the grieving process when a child or parent is ill. They help resolve family conflicts when a sibling is sick and provide age-appropriate support to siblings when their brother or sister is sick. Child life specialists use a variety of activities to allow children to express their feelings.

They can tell stories, put on puppet shows, or create crafts. The BLS reports that child life specialist employment will grow at a fast rate. Medical facilities will need to hire more child life specialists to help with education, counsel and assist children and their families.

The Child Life Specialist: A Resource for Children and Families

The child life specialist is a job that helps children and families deal with disruptions and changes caused by a child being hospitalized. The child life specialist uses their training in child development and related interventions to help prepare children for the difficult tests, medical procedures and life changes that result from treatment of chronic or acute illnesses requiring hospitalization. The child life specialist prepares the child and their family for the medical procedures that will be part of their treatment.

The child life professional is an advocate for the child and their family during the medical treatments based on the unique needs of each child. The child life specialist makes sure the child is given enough time to play, learn and develop their feelings during their medical treatment. The child life professional works to promote family and patient focused care by promoting the healing process of the child.

The child life specialist is a valuable service for children and their families. It is frightening for families and the child to have extensive medical treatments for chronic or acute illnesses. Children are scared of medical procedures and can be very scared.

The child life specialist helps the child understand emotionally adapt to the medical process they are going through. The child life professional helps to increase the quality of life and the health outcome of the child by reducing stress in the family and child. Stress can be a factor in the healing process and the benefit to the family is enormous.

The child life specialist is an advocate and a counselor for the family, through one of the most potentially traumatic experiences they might have. The child life specialist has a positive impact on the family. The process of treating acute and chronic illnesses is frightening for a child.

Child Life Specialists: Career Opportunities in Healthcare

A child life specialist is the first person a young patient will interact with when they arrive at the hospital. A child life specialist is responsible for positively impacting children's lives and removing barriers to optimal health outcomes. Depending on the situation, patient care also extends to siblings and caregivers.

Child life specialists are advocates for young patients and their families. It can be difficult to determine a care strategy and administer care if patients are unable to express themselves. Younger patients are more difficult to comprehend when it comes to medical conditions and treatments.

According to the hospital, play therapy is used to build trust and ease fears. Play therapy uses dolls and stuffed animals to help explain diagnoses and treatments to young patients. The role of a child life specialist is to accommodate the unique needs of patients, which can change over the care process.

Child life specialists assess patients and their needs beyond their insurance and medical care, according to the BLS. Child life specialists have to navigate often complicated care-related situations, such as injury, illness, trauma, disability, and hospitalization. They must keep a close eye on patient surgeries, cancer treatments, and healthcare milestones.

Child life specialists provide care to young patients, including infants, toddlers, elementary school-age children, and even teens and young adults. Child life specialists can also coordinate non medical care with doctors, nurses, and surgeons. A bachelor's degree in a relevant field, such as an online Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies, can help build a foundation for a career in creating safe environments for children as they work to overcome medical hurdles.