Child Life Specialist

What You'll Do

You'll help kids and their families make sense of illness, hospitalization, and outpatient procedures. Your main goal is to cut down on the stress and anxiety that comes with medical stuff ; things like procedures, being away from home, and disrupted routines. It's a role where you get to be the steady, reassuring presence families need.

What You'll Be Working On

You'll assess each child and family's needs and concerns. From there, you build a personalized care plan ; working alongside the patient, their family, and the healthcare team. You pick the right interventions to hit the expected outcomes, then track progress and adjust the plan as things change.

• You document everything properly, from patient charts to event reports.
• You show real accountability for your own practice by seeking out resources and keeping your skills sharp.
• You know your equipment and stay current with evidence based practices.
• You participate in interdisciplinary care, pulling in extra resources when needed.
• You analyze clinical situations systematically and act to fix problems or get the right resources.
• You own the problem and stick with it until it's resolved in the best way possible.
• You prioritize your work based on changes in the patient's condition, shifts in assignment, or unexpected interruptions.
• You identify and use team resources to solve problems or meet needs.
• You collaborate with the healthcare team to organize tasks from admission to discharge, all according to the plan of care.
• You delegate tasks appropriately to other team members.
• You advocate with physicians on the patient's behalf when necessary.
• You communicate in a way that boosts team performance and gets the best outcomes for patients and the unit.
• You choose a communication style that fits the situation ; giving and accepting constructive feedback.

Teaching and Education

You'll pick teaching strategies based on the patient's age and family needs. And you'll adapt those strategies depending on how the patient responds, how ready they are to learn, and what they can understand. Cultural, age specific, gender, and developmental factors are always part of the equation when you're explaining a procedure, illness, or hospital experience.

• You follow hospital policies, procedures, and National Patient Safety Goals to keep patients safe.
• You consult the right hospital resources to provide specialized education.
• You use the SVI patient education system as a resource for patients and their families.
• You help develop yourself and your teammates professionally.
• You share your clinical knowledge through both formal and informal teaching, whenever someone needs to learn something.

Improving Performance and Patient Satisfaction

You'll actively take part in data collection, analysis, and problem solving. You give input on process improvements and patient satisfaction. Working with the interdisciplinary team, you identify opportunities to improve both patient care and how happy patients and families are.

• You actively promote customer satisfaction ; for patients, families, other departments, and physicians.
• You participate in Performance Improvement initiatives.
• You follow up on patient and family requests or needs promptly and efficiently, often anticipating those needs before they're expressed.
• You encourage coworkers to deliver excellent customer satisfaction by using the organization's service excellence standards.
• You serve on unit based councils as needed.
• You identify practice problems on your unit.
• You implement changes in your own clinical practice based on new literature or unit process improvement results.
• You work on assigned projects, data collection, and audits.

What You Need to Have

Certifications:

• Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) within 1 year ; from the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP).
• Basic Life Support (BLS) within 30 days ; from the American Heart Association (AHA).

Education:

• A Bachelor's Degree in Child Development that includes the 10 required courses outlined by the Association of Child Life Professionals.
• Or a Bachelor's Degree in a Related Field that includes those same 10 required courses.
• Successful completion of a 600 hour child life internship.

Other Knowledge and Skills:

• You write, read, comprehend, and speak fluent English.
• You have basic computer knowledge ; word processing, spreadsheets, email, and web browsers.
• You bring multicultural sensitivity to your work.
• You use critical thinking and independent judgment when making decisions.

Benefits

Details on compensation and benefits will be discussed during the interview process. A sign on bonus is available.

How to Apply

If this sounds like the right fit for you, please submit your application through JobXi. Make sure your resume and any relevant certifications are included.

Carle Health is an equal opportunity employer.