diagnosis or first visits to multiple return visits. She says she builds solid relationships with the children and their families. “It is most rewarding when I’ve spent time with an anxious child and done “everything” (diagnosis, teaching, medical play, procedure education, and support) and slowly see the change from a child not coping well at all, to coping well with support and slowly not needing me at all; it’s a little sad when they tell me they don’t need me to be present, but I know then that I have
teacher has always been a potential career path for me; however, I recently discovered the position of a child life specialist which has further broadened my interest for a future career. Although they are not educators in school, they are extremely important since they are the educators for children and their families to help overcome difficult and/or challenging life events. As a child life specialist I will be teaching children and families in hospitals how to cope with their diagnoses, how a surgery
Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) and the role they have in healthcare settings. A Child Life Specialist is a professional in pediatric psychosocial advancement who “promotes typical development and minimizes the stress and anxiety of medical experiences for children through the use of psychosocial interventions” (Burns-Nader & Hernandez-Reif, 2016). To be a CCLS a bachelor’s degree in child life must be completed with a hospital internship and pass a national certification. Child Life Specialists
have witnessed the anxiety that often comes with being placed in the hospital for not just the child but for parents and siblings as well. A mother by the name of Jodi Gurka, whose five year old daughter Lexie began treatment for lymphoma two years before said that she has had many experiences being in the hospital, but by far the best experience was when Lexie was able to have a Child Life Specialist by her side. Gurka says “She walked with us, hugged us, cried with us, emailed us - overall, just
I learned about the child life profession through my academic advisor here at Auburn University. While I was meeting with her, we were discussing the passions and values that I had on a personal and professional level, which she then introduced me to Human Development Family Science, with a concentration in Child Life. I am most interested in being an advocate for children and their feelings, as well as preventing the possible traumas that can occur in the hospital. I am interested in being able
if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!” The goal of Child Life Services is just that, they want to equip sick children and their families with the right tools, both figuratively and literally, to help the children succeed. Child Life Services is a relatively new concept in many areas. There has been a growth in the Child Life Services in the last fifty years. This is fairly odd due to the fact that fewer children are being hospitalized,
In pediatric healthcare settings, child life specialists typically provide support and facilitate open communication to patients, siblings, and families regarding the topics of life-threatening illnesses and the potential of death. Unfortunately, in the adult healthcare world, child life services are not always readily available by consultation and therefore, families with children sometimes struggle to discuss a parent’s life-threading illness and potential death (Sutter & Reid, 2012). In adult
small rooms poking, prodding and talking in a medical language that is foreign to them. With the assistance of a nurse to treat and care for the child, a Child Life Specialist (CLS) can help reduce these challenges and promote healthy coping skills and development. As a Capella student, my academic goal is to earn my Master’s in Psychology with a focus in Child and Adolescent Development. In conjunction with the practitioner-scholar learning method, the development of
This past week was my fourth full week on the medical/surgical floors, and while four west is still my primary unit, I had a unique opportunity to attend a school re-entry with the hem/onc child life specialist, Taryn, and the hem/onc art therapist, Emily. The school re-entry was for a 12-year-old male, who has recently finished treatment at Norton Children’s Hospital for Burkitt’s Lymphoma. This particular school re-entry was on Wednesday, February 1, 2017, and included a presentation and art activity
Child Life History Learning the history of where things come from and how they came to be in crucial for almost everything in life. When we know the purpose for a program or in this case a profession, it allows us to keep that view within our frame of mind. We can make sure that we continue to work towards what the original goal was for the program as we do our work. The past allows us to see the mistakes that have been made and what was done to fix them. Knowing what mistakes have been made and
children ages 6-12 years old. One of the primary objectives of child life is to help children to cope with, and to minimize, stress in the hospital environment and during painful or frightening procedures. To achieve that primary objective, while taking the results of the current study into account, child life specialists can work to implement these distraction techniques and encourage caregiver involvement during procedures. Child life specialists need to be cognizant of these results and be able to developmentally
outpatient clinic, my pediatric observation experience was completely different from what I am used to seeing. The therapist I observed was Allie Ribner who works at All Children’s Child Development and Rehab Center. Each session was completely different from one another for the session was geared towards the goals of the child and families. I found this to be a great learning experience for I saw a wide variety of different treatments and age range from 14 months to 15 years old. The first patient I
different hospitalizations I had. During these hospitalizations for surgery, I had met a Child Life specialist. I would explain that a Child Life specialist is a person who works with pediatric patients to help them understand what is going on around them in the hospital. When explaining to myself about the duties of a child life specialist, they use different treatment methods such as, therapeutic play, talking to the child and family about a procedure, distraction during medical procedures, and medical
games. Each volunteer is paired with one or two children and is responsible for promoting developmentally appropriate games and activities for the child. In addition, I have been volunteering at Children’s Hospital Colorado for two years in the Respiratory and Oncology Units. This has allowed me to get a preview into the everyday life of a Child Life Specialist, but still left me wanting to learn more. Recently, I switched my volunteer shift to be in the BMT Unit because I wanted more one-on-one patient
in children these days. This disability starts during a child’s development period and may last for a life time. Special educational programs are available for children with development disabilities. The diagnosis of developmental disabilities can be done at an early age. It is the duty of parents to take their children to a specialist who can help them in their children’s diagnosis. Specialists in healthcares are always ready to help parents in diagnosing developmental disabilities. After the diagnosis
learning disability. Dyslexia is a disability that impairs one’s ability (usually identified in children) to read and interpret different letters/words. It cannot be cured and is generally a lifelong condition but can be treated with therapists/specialists. This disorder does not translate to poor individual intelligence, just simply an individual that struggles in an area of learning. More often than not, this disability can be self diagnosed by an adult. This disorder is the most common learning
something maybe wrong with your child. All children develop at different levels; however, when a parent notices that their child is not doing the things that children typically do at a given age it becomes alarming. Children are expected to learn several skills as they grow up. All skills learned by children are referred to as developmental milestones’. No one really knows why some children can walk at nine months, while others do not walk until they are twenty months. When a child is classified as having
With regard to sports, it has been often been perceived as a preserve of males. Therefore, supporting programs in television and other forms of media have always featured males. Hence females have been left out. According to my experience as a specialist in the development of children, there is a need for a very positive and active partnership as far as the care of a chi... ... middle of paper ... ...ke sure all of them are on the same page. To instill the culture of working together, Employers
I was asked to describe three specific concepts, ideas, practices that I would take with me and apply to my life. After taking Introduction to Child Life I have thought of the three concepts that I will take with me and apply to my personal life as well as my professional life. My first concept is the importance of play. I learned from the readings in section 8 that medical play and preparation are both used to inform children about upcoming events. These strategies also are assumed to adjust anxiety
Career: Law and Law Enforcement Description: Parole officers are the ones who are in charge of supervising criminals who are about to be released from prison/jail. They take notes on how the criminal is behaving, and transitioning from prison life to civilian life. A Parole officer can give an approval or denial for a criminal’s release. Personal Interest: I am interested in this career because I have an uncle who is currently working as a Parole Officer and tells me how much he enjoys his job, and that