Child Life Specialist

Orlando Health•Orlando, FL

13h•Onsite

About The Position

Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children is seeking a Child Life Specialist. This role involves assessing and providing therapeutically supportive interventions for patients and families, utilizing theories of human growth and development, family systems, and biopsychosocial models. The specialist will focus on helping children and adolescents master challenging life events through play, education, and preparation throughout their healthcare experience. This position will support the children’s NICU department and involves working four (4) 10-hour shifts per week.

Requirements

Child Life Specialist Internship, or experience.

Responsibilities

Demonstrates knowledge and ability to provide clinical support/education to patients and families of all age groups.
Uses basic knowledge around formal and informal assessment techniques to accurately determine patients’ developmental and emotional status, and documents such as indicated.
Verbalizes developmental theory to support assessments and interventions with patients and families.
Uses resources to accommodate cultural and communication/language needs to provide comprehensive care.
Provides age-appropriate, non-pharmacological pain management techniques to patients to optimize outcomes.
Uses developmentally appropriate and medically accurate teaching strategies to ensure that cognitive and emotional needs are supported prior to, during and following invasive and perceived threatening procedures and surgeries.
Provides parental guidance regarding impact of illness, hospitalization, treatment and bereavement.
Determines and prioritizes the needs and scope of child life services for each patient and family members, i.e. siblings.
Provides direction to Child Life Assistants and Child Life Volunteers related to patient care activity and services.
Provides a therapeutic and safe environment for individuals and groups, ages 0-21.
Utilizes therapeutic play, both in group settings and one-on-one interactions to facilitate a child’s mastery of and coping with the health care experience.
Ensures a safe, appropriate and child-friendly environment within the play spaces.
Aware of patient safety issues in the health care environment and demonstrates such awareness.
Adheres to hospital policy regarding patient confidentiality and infection control.
Represents and communicates child life and psychosocial issues of pediatric health care.
Participates in Child Life student experiences.
Serves as a subject matter expert about the work of child life to various tour groups visiting the hospital.
Recommends/provides programs and resources to curriculum/training of health care staff, students and volunteers.
Assists with programs that involve the community for purposes of enhancing the patient experience.
Helps provide input for community service projects such as donations of supplies, entertainment and recreational experiences.
Collaborates with internal stakeholders to ensure good communication and compliance with OH requirements.
Effectively serves as a liaison between a community partner and the patients/families for purposes of facilitating meaningful introductions and interactions between them.
Contributes to post-event assessment to determine whether changes are warranted in the future for continued enhancement to the patient experience.
Conducts self-evaluation and participates in establishing professional goals.
Adheres to the professional code of ethics of the Association of Child Life Professionals.
Consistently follows Code of Conduct Standards and compliance with all department/hospital performance requirements.
Demonstrates a positive professional attitude and cooperatively and constructively relates to all patients, families, guests, and other health care members.
Respects and supports patient/family’s rights and advocates for patient/families.
Maintains compliance with all Orlando Health policies and procedures.