Career Center

JOB SUMMARY
The Child Life Specialist will work with pediatric patients and family members to provide emotional, social and developmental support, and to add to the quality of care throughout the challenges of illness or injury, including end of life and bereavement.

FT outpatient clinic days rotating holidays 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE ROLE

• Works to provide psychosocial care and as an advocate for pediatric patients to ensure they are receiving medical care under the most optimal and positive circumstances.
• Provides therapeutic medical play and preparation sessions with patients and families that effectively facilitate a solid understanding of medical procedures and appropriate coping strategies.
• Provides therapeutic opportunities and encounters that facilitate a patient's expression and understanding of feelings associated with medical experiences, illness and/or handicaps.
• Provides emotional support to families and patients through a variety of interventions that promote acceptance of, and coping with, illness and medical encounters. Participates in planning safe, appropriate developmentally supportive environments for patients and families in a professional manner.
• Provides age and developmentally appropriate activities that effectively promote the cognitive and emotional growth of patients.
• Functions as an active and contributing member of multidisciplinary teams to further improve the medical experience of patients and families. Communicates any relevant observations on patients to other members of the health care team in formal written (charting) and verbal formats. Provides orientation and teaching of appropriate concepts of the field of Child Life to volunteers, medical and nursing students as the opportunities arise.
• Coordinates and plans special events for patients (i.e., birthday parties, celebrity visitors, etc.), as needed.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

• Possesses expansive knowledge of child development, child life theory and evidence-based practice, as well as childhood trauma and grief and therapeutic interventions.
• Demonstrates strong verbal and non-verbal communication skills including; developmentally-appropriate verbiage, facial expressions, active listening, emotional regulation, empathy, social awareness, relationship management, self-awareness, affective matching and presentation skills.
• Displays cultural competence and is respectful of patients, families and medical staff with diverse spiritual, ethnic, language, educational and socio-economic differences.
• Possesses effective time-management and prioritization skills for all child life tasks and responsibilities as well as comfort and confidence working with minimal supervision.
• Proactively seeks out opportunities to provide education to medical staff about child life services.
• Advocates for psychosocial well-being of children. Manages the intense emotional stress inherent when working with children and families experiencing serious illness or injury, end-of-life, death and bereavement.
• Possesses strong documentation skills with appropriate verbiage, punctuation, spelling and professional tone.
• Cert Child Life Specialist (CCLS) OR obtain certification within 3 months of hire.

BENEFITS
Our competitive benefits package includes the following

• Immediate eligibility for health and welfare benefits
• 401(k) savings plan with dollar-for-dollar match up to 5%
• Tuition Reimbursement
• PTO accrual beginning Day 1

Note: Benefits may vary based upon position type and/or level

QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION: Bachelor's
EXPERIENCE: Less than 1 Year of Experience
CERTIFICATION/LICENSE/REGISTRATION:

• Basic Life Support (BLS): BLS or BLS within 30 days of hire or transfer.
• Cert Child Life Specialist (CCLS): Cert Child Life Specialist (CCLS) OR obtain certification within 3 months of hire.