Child Life Specialist

Hackensack Meridian Health•Hackensack, NJ

About The Position

Our team members are the heart of what makes us better. At Hackensack Meridian Health we help our patients live better, healthier lives — and we help one another to succeed. With a culture rooted in connection and collaboration, our employees are team members. Here, competitive benefits are just the beginning. It’s also about how we support one another and how we show up for our community. Together, we keep getting better - advancing our mission to transform healthcare and serve as a leader of positive change. The Child Life Specialist implements child life care providing a safe and nurturing environment where children and adolescents can enrich coping skills, address psychosocial needs, and increase understanding of issues related to medical experiences. The schedule is Wednesday - Saturday from 12pm-10:30pm. We are looking for a Certified Child Life Specialist. Experience in a Children's Hospital is preferred.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in creative arts therapy, child psychology, special education, occupational therapy, social work, or equivalent.
Minimum of 1 year utilizing Child Life services or Internship with children/adolescents in a medical setting.
Certified Child Life Specialist within 18 months of entering position.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a Children's Hospital is preferred.

Responsibilities

Assesses psychosocial and developmental needs of pediatric patients and develops care accordingly.
Counsel's family members regarding issues related to patient's development and ability to cope with their hospitalization, diagnosis and medical treatment.
Provides individual and/or group support for children and adolescents inpatient and/or outpatient.
Provides Child Life Services to patient and family members in accordance with the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) and defined and interpreted by supervisor.
Maintains records of practices and tracks trends for reporting as requested.
Works in collaboration and communicates with treatment team to enhance care to patients.
Completes timely documentation in EPIC as required.
Helps oversee Child Life volunteers within unit.
Task supervises interns within Child Life/Creative Arts Therapy department.
Provides supervision to bachelor's level child life interns in accordance with department, educational site and ACLP standards.
Maintains child friendly and safe playrooms as designated.
Participates in team programming, i.e. task forces and committees within department or hospital.
Assists with Child Life and CH Foundation events.
Identifies the needs of the patient population served and modifies and delivers care that is specific to those needs (i.e., age. Culture, hearing and/or visually impaired, etc.) This process includes communicating with the patient, parent and/or primary caregiver(s) at their level (developmental/age, educational, literacy, etc.).
Adheres to the standards identified in the Medical Center's Organizational Competencies.