What do I do?

I probably explain my career an average of 5 times a week. Even friends I've known for years still don't seem to get what I do. So... here it is, straight from the Child Life Council Website:

"Child life specialists are trained professionals with expertise in helping children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events.

Armed with a strong background in child development and family systems, child life specialists promote effective coping through play, preparation, education, and self-expression activities. They provide emotional support for families, and encourage optimum development of children facing a broad range of challenging experiences, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization. Because they understand that a child’s wellbeing depends on the support of the family, child life specialists provide information, support and guidance to parents, siblings, and other family members. They also play a vital role in educating caregivers, administrators, and the general public about the needs of children under stress."


I would say that in most areas of Child Life, there is no 'typical' day. I worked on a General Pediatrics floor for a few years, and I would see patients with long-term or terminal illnesses along with patients who were there for constipation, seizures, asthma, developmental delays, kidney problems, etc. So, sometimes, for one child, my goal might be to just help them through getting their IV and make sure they have activities to do to make things more normal while they are in the hospital for a day or two. And other times, I might have a long-term goal of helping a child to understand his/her new diagnosis and to cope more effectively with treatments that will change the routine of their life or physical appearance. Sometimes, a CLS might be with a family who is grieving the upcoming death of a child, and ten minutes later might be playing Wii with another child. The CLS is there for whatever that child and family's social/emotional needs are.

I think it is a really cool and unique position to have. We don't do any kinds of medical procedures, we just help the child through those procedures. We use medical play to help the child understand better what they are experiencing. Sometimes, we use pretend doctors kits, and sometimes we use 'professional' dolls and real medical equipment to act out actual procedures. That is pretty fun. We make prep books that show kids what to expect during things like Surgery or getting a PICC Line (like an IV that stays with you for a while so you can get things like antibiotics over a period of time). We do therapeutic-type art and play activities to help children process through their experiences. We answer questions and sometimes predict the questions that kids just won't ask out loud. When I worked at MCG, I was in charge of the Special Events for the kids, so I would set up groups to come into the hospital to provide fun for the kids (magicians, scrapbooking, pet therapy, holiday parties, musicians, sports players, etc). So pretty much anything that would make the hospital a little more bearable is what Child Life is for ;)

Hopefully that explains it a little better for anyone who hasn't heard of Child Life or who just hasn't understood it. Maybe it is something that you have to see to 'get.'

On Monday (7 days from now), I will begin a new Child Life position at Doctor's Hospital in Augusta. Doctor's has the largest burn unit in the southeast, with children and adults being treated from 7 different states in the southeast. They have never had a Child Life program or a Child Life Specialist, so I will be explaining myself a lot to nurses and staff there! Thanksfully, the Burn Unit Director, Doctor and Nurse Practioner are very knowledgeable about Child Life and are excited to get a program started. Right now, the children who are served at Doctor's are placed in the same unit as the adults. I walked through the unit during my interview, and it is pretty scary. Just a really scary place for a kid to have to be. There is nothing child-friendly about it. Plus, they are in rooms right next to severly burned adults... which probably looks a lot like what you might expect it to look like.
The good news is that in the Fall, there will be a BRAND NEW 16-bed Pediatric Burn Unit - just for kids!!
I think I have a big job ahead of me, but it is really exciting. My friends from MCG and I have talked for years about how we wish Doctor's had a Child Life program for the kids in the burn unit. So, this has been a long time coming! Along with the burn unit, there is also a 9-bed general pediatrics floor that I will work with, too... so that should be a little more familiar to me ;)
I am really excited about the new position. I don't know exactly what to expect, but I know that even the little changes made in the beginning will go a long way. I really think it is going to be cool... hard and challenging, but really great. And, I'm SO grateful to have my Child Life friends in Augusta for support. They will be an invaluable resource, I know!
So, I plan to blog about this little journey on starting the program at Doctors. The good, bad and ugly... but hopefully mostly good :)