Child Life Specialist

About the role

Work with patients, families, and a multidisciplinary team to facilitate age-appropriate interactions, increase effective patient/family coping, and promote optimal development of hospitalized children and the children of hospitalized adults. Collaborate with other disciplines to coordinate continuity of patient care from admission to discharge. Provide Child Life services to inpatients using specialized skills, including assessment, treatment program planning and implementation, as prescribed by a physician and related documentation. Assist with pediatric program development and outreach, and provide consultative support to staff in the ED and outpatient clinics as able.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate working knowledge of disease process, precautions, typical medical treatment and diagnostic procedures, functional abilities, complications, and implications of long-term deficits related to primary diagnoses.
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the developmental stages and their effects on hospitalizations and proficiency in the evaluation and assessments of patients ages 0–18 years (and adults with developmental delays placing them at a developmental age between 0–18) with a variety of complex and multiple medical issues.
• Create care plans based on admit diagnosis and medical issues impacting stay, assessment of the child’s current developmental stage, temperament, coping style, culture, spirituality, potential stressors, patient and family needs, and social supports.
• Provide a diverse, well-rounded, goal-directed treatment program to meet patient’s psychosocial and developmental needs.
• Demonstrate competence in providing developmental, educational, and therapeutic interventions for children, adolescents, and their families under stress of hospitalization, illness, death and/or loss.
• Serve as a resource to other disciplines in the developmental needs of pediatric and adolescent populations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and certification as a Child Life Specialist.
• Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

Pay

• Pay Range Minimum: $37.45 hourly
• Pay Range Maximum: $53.58 hourly