Child Life Specialist- Per Diem - Connecticut Children's Medical Center : Job Details

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

ASSESSMENT & PLANNING: Assess the coping responses and needs of assigned patients/families to their healthcare experience; plan and coordinate appropriate developmental, therapeutic and educational opportunities for the patient and family, taking into consideration the individuality of each child's family, culture and stage of development; develop and implement activities, resources and programs to meet patient/family needs.

THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS: Minimize stress and anxiety for patient by providing developmentally appropriate opportunities and education that encourage expression of feelings and promote a sense of mastery and understanding of both the overall health care experience and individual diagnosis. Maintain appropriate supply of therapeutic materials. Promote and support parental role.

ESSENTIAL LIFE EXPERIENCES: Provide essential life experiences for children to foster continued growth and development by organizing individual diagnosis based activities; coordinating special educational/support events that promote development and provide resources; and participating in development and implementation of activities with individuals/community groups involved in interacting with children and their families.

HEALTH CARE TEAM: Effectively communicate observations, assessments and recommendations for care to other members of healthcare team (through verbal and written channels); accurately documents care and services provided following established policies and procedures. Advocate for patient and family needs; and activate appropriate services/referrals. Assists in the maintenance of a safe and therapeutic patient care environment. As assigned, participates in quality improvement activities. Actively participates on inter-disciplinary teams and committees.

EDUCATION/COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY: Develop and maintain own knowledge and understanding of the medical conditions and healthcare experiences of specific patient populations. Develop resources and provide education for medical center staff; may develop and provide education and resources for community providers regarding developmental needs of children. Participate in continual professional development.

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT: Provide age-appropriate emotional support and education, in collaboration with the health care team, for parents and families surrounding issues of end-of-life care, grief and loss.

SIBLING SUPPORT: Assess the support needs of siblings, both indirectly, through parent report, and directly, through observation and therapeutic interactions. Provide teaching and support regarding diagnosis and health care experience support for siblings of chronic and critically ill patients. Offer support/education to parents and other caregivers regarding both normal behaviors of siblings and those that might indicate a need for further interventions.

Demonstrates knowledge of the age-related differences and needs of patients in appropriate, specific populations from neonate through adolescence and applies them to practice. Demonstrates cultural sensitivity in all interactions with patients/families.

Demonstrates support for the mission, values and goals of the organization through behaviors that are consistent with the CONNECTICUT CHILDREN'S STANDARDS.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Education Required: Bachelor's degree in Child Life, Child Development or directly related field in behavioral sciences or human development required.

Master's degree preferred.

Experience Required:

Position Specific Job Education and/or Experience

LICENSE and/or CERTIFICATION REQUIRED

Certified Child Life Specialist, issued through Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP), within one year of hire.

Nonviolent Crisis Intervention (CPI) training certification required within one year of hire and maintained thereafter.

Position Specific Job License and/or Certification Required

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED

KNOWLEDGE OF:

Basic knowledge and understanding of the medical conditions and healthcare experiences of specific patient populations

Clinical operations policies and procedures; documentation and patient record policies and standards

In-depth knowledge of child development theory and practice

Therapeutic play activities and materials; teaching techniques; identification of learning needs and provision of patient/family education

Legal and ethical issues related to patient rights

SKILLS:

Strong interpersonal and communication (verbal and written) skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community

Basic proficiency in utilization of personal computers in networked Windows-based health care environment to access related software applications; locate, open, edit and print files and information utilized by the unit; and use of Internet as research tool

ABILITY TO:

Create effective relationships with individuals of different cultural beliefs and lifestyles

Observe, assess, and record symptoms, reactions and progress

Maintain emotional stability to cope with human suffering, emergencies and other stresses

Maintain confidentiality of information

Make administrative/procedural decisions and judgments

Evaluate the progress of therapeutic programs and make individual modifications

Work within a multidisciplinary team

Draw upon experience from pre-admission tours, pre-procedural teaching, pre-operational teaching, playroom programs, play and art therapy, and sibling support.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Clinical environment with normal noise level.

Physical Requirements:

Amount of Time

(Choose which ones do apply)

< 25% day

Occasional

25-50% day

Frequent

50-75% day

Constant

> 75% day

Stand ? ? ? ? Walk ? ? ? ? Sit ? ? ? ? Manual Dexterity/Repetitive use of hands, wrists, arms, elbows ? ? ? ? Forward reach w/hands and/or arms ? ? ? ? Climb or balance ? ? ? ? Stoop, kneel, crouch ? ? ? ? Overhead/above shoulder reaching ? ? ? ?

Choose Applicable Lifting Demands LIFT Floor-Waist Waist-Shoulder Above Shoulder < 15 lbs. Frequently Occasionally Occasionally 15 - 25 lbs. Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally 25 - 40 lbs. Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally 50 lbs. Occasionally Not Applicable Not Applicable

PUSH/PULL < 50 lbs. Occasionally

50 - 100 lbs.

(push/pull only)

Not Applicable

More than 100 lbs.*

(push/pull on wheels only)

* indicate weight range

Not Applicable

lbs

Other Comment(s)*