Pediatric Child Life Specialist

Community Hospice & Palliative Care • Jacksonville, FL

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Child Life Specialist is responsible for helping pediatric patients and families (to include siblings) understand and manage challenging life events, stressful healthcare experiences related to the child’s life-limiting, life-threatening condition and develop with the team opportunities to enhance quality of life through social support experiences. By providing developmental, educational, and therapeutic interventions for children and their families, in the home and at the Dorion Family Pediatric Center, the Child Life Specialist helps reduce the stress and anxiety that many children experience because of their medical care with resultant impact on the child’s family.

Requirements

• Must be certified as a Child Life Specialist by the Child Life Certifying Commission under the Child Life Council
• CPR certification, current
• Bachelor’s / master’s degree in child Life from a college or university
• Bachelor’s degree in child development, Therapeutic Recreation or related field(s)
• Communicating and listening effectively
• Working within framework of interdisciplinary team

Nice To Haves

• Child development/Child Life experience, Child Life Practicum/ Internship or related field experience preferred
• Principles and practices of child development, pediatric grief and loss and or therapeutic recreation
• Dynamics of family relationships and family systems

Responsibilities

• Provides child life and therapeutic activities that help children express feelings, develop coping skills, understand their illness and treatment, and prepare for medical procedures at home and at the Dorion Family Pediatric Center.
• Provides medical play, therapeutic play, distraction, memory making, activity modification, and other child life interventions to support children and families at home and at the Dorion Center.
• Assesses each child’s developmental level, temperament, coping style, medical needs, and family support to develop individualized and group interventions and plans of care.
• Provides anticipatory grief, memory making, and bereavement support to children and families throughout illness, decline, end-of-life care, and after death.
• Supports siblings by helping them understand their sibling’s illness, treatment, prognosis, and end-of-life experience in developmentally appropriate ways.
• Creates and implements child- and family-centered activities at the Dorion Family Pediatric Center that address grief, coping, connection, memory making, and emotional support throughout the illness and bereavement journey.
• Provides individual and group support to children, siblings, caregivers, and families utilizing the Dorion Family Pediatric Center and connects families with appropriate community and program resources.
• Collaborate with the Dorion Center and PedsCare teams to identify family needs and support /coordinate the referral process and group placement for Dorion support group activities
• Educates parents and caregivers on child development, coping strategies, behavioral support, medical play, memory making, and ways to support siblings.
• Educates patients, families, and staff on non-pharmacological techniques for managing pain, anxiety, and stress.
• Collaborate with physicians, nurses, social workers, therapists, and other interdisciplinary team members to identify needs and coordinate psychosocial and child life support.
• Participates in interdisciplinary team meetings and maintains communication regarding patient and family needs, responses, and progress.
• Participates in professional organizations, advisory boards, and educational opportunities related to child life, pediatric hospice, palliative care, grief, and bereavement.
• Provides education and training to program staff, healthcare professionals, volunteers, students, families, and community partners on child life and grief-related topics.
• Coordinates Child Life practicum and internship opportunities in collaboration with universities.
• Supports PedsCare volunteers by providing guidance, assignments, follow-up, and training in collaboration with the Social Work team.
• Demonstrates professionalism, compassion, tact, sensitivity, sound judgment, and respect when working with children, families, colleagues, and community partners.
• Maintains professional certification and participates in ongoing professional development to support current child life practices.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• full-benefits package including 23 days annual PTO

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level