Certified Child Life Specialist - Westchester Medical Center

Distinguishing Features of the Class: The Child Life Speciliast provides psychosocial, developmental and emotional interventions to support pediatric patients and their families in the health care setting and provide opportunities to cope, gain a sense of mastery and engage in self-expression in order to minimize both the immediate and long term effects of stress, anxiety, and psychosocial trauma. This position functions as a key member of the healthcare team and communicates all relevant developmental and psychosocial information to other team members by such means as charting, participation in rounds and team meetings. Supervision may be exercised over volunteers and interns. Does related work as required.

Examples of Work: (Illustrative Only)

Assess patients’ development, temperament, coping style and adjustment, utilizing knowledge of child development and behavior, injury and disease treatment, and cultural and family systems to develop an individualized treatment plan;

Utilizes knowledge and resources to assess, plan, and prioritize appropriate child life interventions, assessing patient and families to determine developmental level, emotional state, and individual needs;

Responds to formal and informal consults in a timely manner;

Provides education regarding illness, diagnosis, treatment, and coping techniques to patients, parents, caregivers and siblings;

Provides preparation for patients and families for surgical, medical and diagnostic procedures using developmentally appropriate and medically accurate teaching tools and techniques with a goal of decreasing anxiety, increasing knowledge and coping;

Provides a safe and therapeutic environment that encourages opportunities for and facilitates a variety of group and individual play and activities that promote normalization, development, learning, self-expression, and coping;

Demonstrates, explains and provides stress reduction techniques before, during and after stressful experiences to facilitate adaptive coping and encourages emotional expression in order to promote understanding, mastery and coping;

Facilitates positive relationships with family members, using knowledge and resources to accommodate cultural needs and to bridge differences;

Consistently follows infection control guidelines to prevent cross contamination in the playroom, at bedside and during group activities;

Coordinates activities and special events in a manner that is collaborative with other departments and services and creates, and implements activities to ensure continuity of normal life experiences such as birthdays and holidays;

Provides support and information regarding bereavement and legacy building and collaborates with interdisciplinary team in pain management and palliative care;

Provides ongoing management, training, supervision and evaluation of child life interns to maintain Association of Child Life Professionals clinical internship accreditation;

Provides ongoing volunteer management, training, supervision and evaluation to best meet patient, family and unit needs;

Upholds professional code of ethics (ACLP 2020) including the establishment of therapeutic relationships with patients and families that are clear, caring and boundaries;

Participates in ongoing professional development.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Attributes: Good knowledge of growth and development of individuals ages 0-21; good knowledge of the effects of illness, injury and hospitalization on children and their families; good knowledge of family dynamics and interpersonal communication; knowledge of group process and behavior management; knowledge of therapeutic play and activities; basic understanding of children's illnesses and medical terminology; ability to assist patients in coping with the stress of hospitalization, illness, death, and/or loss; ability to function as a member of the health care team; ability to assess and interact with patients and families using theories of human growth and development, family systems and cultural background; ability to work individually with children or in groups; ability to effectively use computer applications such as spreadsheets, word processing, calendar, e-mail and database software in performing work assignments; ability to read, write, speak, understand, and communicate in English sufficiently to perform the essential duties of the position; sound judgment; flexibility; resourcefulness; creativity; tact; integrity; respect for cultural, religious and economic values and beliefs; physical condition commensurate with the demands of the position.

Minimum Acceptable Training and Experience: Possession of a Bachelor's degree* in child life, psychology, recreation, early childhood education or closely related field, and either: (1) certification as a Certified Child Life Specialist by the Child Life Council at time of permanent appointment or (2) eligibility for certification as a Child Life Specialist by the Child Life Council and approved registration for certification exam at time of temporary appointment.

*Special Note: Education beyond the secondary level must be from an institution recognized or accredited by the Board of Regents of the New York State Education Department as a post-secondary, degree-granting institution.

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