Although many people are unsure what a Child Life Specialist does, this career is extremely rewarding and a much-needed service. Although a newer career within the healthcare sector, demand has increased dramatically. In this position, children and families are taught critical life tools for handling hospitalization.
Children and their families are typically afraid, nervous, and unsure when a child enters the hospital but with the services of a Child Life Specialist, questions are answered, information shared, and guidance provided to make the experience less stressful.
Career Responsibilities
In the role of a Child Life Specialist, children and families are educated, prepared, and offered support for every aspect of hospitalization. A background in child development allows this professional the opportunity to help children and their families maneuver through the maze of medical tests, procedures, treatment, and recovery.
On a more serious note, this individual would possess the necessary skills to help children and families cope in situations of acute or even life-threatening illness. The Child Life Specialist works closely with other medical professionals as a child and family advocate. Creating a solid team that consists of nurses, doctors, children, and families is essential to full recovery or successful coping.
Along with helping children cope with the unknown associated with illness and hospitalization, this person uses education and training to get children involved with games and recreational activities that encourage physical and mental development, positive outlook, and acceptance. For parents, the Child Life Specialists encourages them to become a member of the healthcare team in support of a child dealing with an illness and hospitalization for long-term benefit.
Interestingly, this healthcare field is more than 50 years old although it has only been within the past 10 years popularity, demand, and value has been realized. Before a Child Life Specialist career was established, parents and other family members were actually discouraged from spending too much time in pediatric wings of hospitals but experts now understand just how important it is to keep sick children and parents united while getting needed support.
Although most people in the Child Life Specialist field work in hospital environments, there are a small number that work with children at home, rehabilitation centers, dental offices, intervention programs, and other similar medical facilities. However, no matter the setting, a Child Life Specialist plays a specific role for children and their families. By giving children and families coping skills and keeping them abreast of medical tests and procedures, tremendous stress is prevented or eliminated.
Other responsibilities would include development and implementing pediatric therapies, activities, and programs, monitoring the child’s development to keep things on track, provide urgent care, follow instructions provided by the primary healthcare professional and facility guidelines, and work somewhat independently while reporting to the assigned physician or supervisor.
The Perfect Child Life Specialist Candidate
Because a career as a Child Life Specialist deals with children, with some succumbing to illness, as well as family members that sometimes feel hopeless, helpless, frustrated, and defeated, it takes a very special person to handle the stressors of this career. Therefore, a Child Life Specialist would need to have compassion, patience, and a genuine interested in helping children and their family.
This professional would also need to be flexible in performing various job functions to coordinate with changing diagnosis, mood, and physical, as well as mental state of the child and family. The Child Life Specialist would also need to work well with nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals, deal with complex medical tests and procedures, possess excellent verbal skills for explaining each step of processes, have good organizational skills, and multi-task.
Having a positive outlook and good sense of humor would also be necessary to carry out all the job responsibilities working as a Child Life Specialist. While education and training for the job would prepare a person to handle each situation that arises, solid character traits such as those mentioned are actually more critical.
The most important lesson for someone interested in working as a Child Life Specialist is that every child and family is different. Therefore, there is no such thing as a typical day, often things changing multiple times throughout the day. By being flexible and understanding puts children and parents at ease and makes this type of career more enjoyable and rewarding.
Educational and Training Requirements
Because of the type of work and intensity of job responsibilities, precise education and training are mandatory. Today, most colleges and universities offer a Bachelor’s program specific to the Child Life Specialist career but for those that do not, the individual would be required to complete a Bachelor’s degree in some other related medical field such as psychology, recreation therapy, early child education, child development, or child and family studies.
Coursework to work as a Child Life Specialist would include all required areas of study for the individual to achieve certification. For this, the person would need to work as an intern for a minimum of 480 hours, followed by completing an examination offered through the Child Life Council, an international organization specific to this field. This exam is offered just twice a year so someone interested in this field would need to submit application early due to the growing number of people interested in becoming a Child Life Specialist.
Earning Potential
Income for a medical billing and coding career would depend on things such as geographic location, type and size of hospital or other medical facility, level of higher education, advanced training received, certification status, and the number of children in the program, and years of experience as a Child Life Specialist or other related professional. However, the average annual salary for someone with a degree and certification is between $40,000 and $50,000 while slightly less for a person without certification.
Job Stability as a Child Life Specialist
As mentioned, with interest in this service on the rise, need for skilled and qualified Child Life Specialists has increased dramatically and continues to climb. Hospitals around the country now employee this type of professional, realizing the true value provided to children and families but also other medical experts. Because of this, securing a job as a Child Life Specialist should be no problem for the right individual.
Recent Comments