Community Hospice of Northeast Florida
Pediatric Child Life Specialist
Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, United States, 32290
Jacksonville, FL 32257
Under the direction of the Community PedsCare Manager, 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, 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. Requires occasional evening and weekend work.
Develops, coordinates and participates in the planning and implementation of remembrance events, support and therapeutic events and support groups for patients and siblings specific to grief and loss.Develops and coordinates activities and groups specific to anticipatory grief and grief following a death of a pediatric patient.Provides therapeutic play activities which facilitate expression of feelings, coping skills and patients' understanding of medical procedures/diagnoses as needed.Collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to screen for patients most appropriate for therapeutic interventions, social enhancement opportunities, teaching, psychosocial support, groups, activities and ongoing assessments.Develops individual plans of care based on assessment of the child's need, development, temperament, coping style, medical plan, and available support.Provides patients and families opportunities for medical play, therapeutic play, memory making, distraction, activity modification, coping, and other child life-associated activities, to support the child and family and, as appropriate, normalize the situation.Provides appropriate pre-operative and pre-procedural teaching to reduce patient and family anxiety.Provides memory making and anticipatory grief/bereavement support to the child's family through the course of the child's sickness and progressive decline in status.Collaborates with pediatric social workers on patient/family psychosocial needs.Maintains ongoing inter-team communication related to patient/sibling responses to child life interventions and observations.Provides child-life focused education to parents/caregivers on topics to include child development, behavioral management, memory making, and coping strategies.Helps parents to understand their child's response to treatment and assist siblings to better understand their brother's or sister's illness/condition.Provides child life interventions to siblings addressing issues regarding illness, disease, or injury, treatment and prognosis appropriate to their developmental and coping levels.Utilizes and educates the child/parent on appropriate procedural support, medical play, and distraction techniques to increase knowledge and awareness of medical procedures and reduce patient anxiety during stressful situations.Educates patients, families and staff on child-life appropriate non-pharmacological pain/anxiety management techniques.Demonstrates professionalism by developing, facilitating, and/or accomplishing skills and programs that reflect the state of art of child life.Contributes to the collaborative plan of care for patients through participation in weekly interdisciplinary team meetings.Participates in professional groups and advisory boards related to pediatric hospice and palliative care.Provides hospital support for PedsCare patients and families to maintain continuity of care and communication with the hospital team.Coordinates / facilitates the Child Life Practicum and Internship opportunities with universities.Supports and works with the PedsCare volunteers for assignments, guidance and follow-up; develops and executes training with the PedsCare Social Work team members.Partners with Dreams Come True and other community wish granting agencies to provide extended social support and quality of life experiences during illness or at EOL.Participates in education to program staff and community on child-life related topics.Maintains professional certification.Demonstrates tact, sensitivity, professional attitudes and judgment relating to patients, families and colleagues.REQUIRED LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS:
Current State of Florida driver's license with driving record acceptable to Community Hospice insurance carrier.Must
be certified as a Child Life Specialist by the Child Life Certifying Commission under the Child Life Council.Must possess current CPR certification.EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:
Any combination of education and/or experience that would provide the required skill and knowledge for successful performance would be acceptable.
Typical qualifications would be equivalent to:
Bachelor's degree in Child Development, Therapeutic Recreation or related field(s).Child development/Child Life experience, or related field experience preferred.KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Principles and practices of child development, therapeutic recreation.Dynamics of family relationships and family systems.Dynamics of family relationships and family systemsSkilled at:
Effective communication and listening skillsAbility to work within framework of interdisciplinary team
We are an equal opportunity employer.We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.
Under the direction of the Community PedsCare Manager, 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, 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. Requires occasional evening and weekend work.
Develops, coordinates and participates in the planning and implementation of remembrance events, support and therapeutic events and support groups for patients and siblings specific to grief and loss.Develops and coordinates activities and groups specific to anticipatory grief and grief following a death of a pediatric patient.Provides therapeutic play activities which facilitate expression of feelings, coping skills and patients' understanding of medical procedures/diagnoses as needed.Collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to screen for patients most appropriate for therapeutic interventions, social enhancement opportunities, teaching, psychosocial support, groups, activities and ongoing assessments.Develops individual plans of care based on assessment of the child's need, development, temperament, coping style, medical plan, and available support.Provides patients and families opportunities for medical play, therapeutic play, memory making, distraction, activity modification, coping, and other child life-associated activities, to support the child and family and, as appropriate, normalize the situation.Provides appropriate pre-operative and pre-procedural teaching to reduce patient and family anxiety.Provides memory making and anticipatory grief/bereavement support to the child's family through the course of the child's sickness and progressive decline in status.Collaborates with pediatric social workers on patient/family psychosocial needs.Maintains ongoing inter-team communication related to patient/sibling responses to child life interventions and observations.Provides child-life focused education to parents/caregivers on topics to include child development, behavioral management, memory making, and coping strategies.Helps parents to understand their child's response to treatment and assist siblings to better understand their brother's or sister's illness/condition.Provides child life interventions to siblings addressing issues regarding illness, disease, or injury, treatment and prognosis appropriate to their developmental and coping levels.Utilizes and educates the child/parent on appropriate procedural support, medical play, and distraction techniques to increase knowledge and awareness of medical procedures and reduce patient anxiety during stressful situations.Educates patients, families and staff on child-life appropriate non-pharmacological pain/anxiety management techniques.Demonstrates professionalism by developing, facilitating, and/or accomplishing skills and programs that reflect the state of art of child life.Contributes to the collaborative plan of care for patients through participation in weekly interdisciplinary team meetings.Participates in professional groups and advisory boards related to pediatric hospice and palliative care.Provides hospital support for PedsCare patients and families to maintain continuity of care and communication with the hospital team.Coordinates / facilitates the Child Life Practicum and Internship opportunities with universities.Supports and works with the PedsCare volunteers for assignments, guidance and follow-up; develops and executes training with the PedsCare Social Work team members.Partners with Dreams Come True and other community wish granting agencies to provide extended social support and quality of life experiences during illness or at EOL.Participates in education to program staff and community on child-life related topics.Maintains professional certification.Demonstrates tact, sensitivity, professional attitudes and judgment relating to patients, families and colleagues.REQUIRED LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS:
Current State of Florida driver's license with driving record acceptable to Community Hospice insurance carrier.Must
be certified as a Child Life Specialist by the Child Life Certifying Commission under the Child Life Council.Must possess current CPR certification.EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:
Any combination of education and/or experience that would provide the required skill and knowledge for successful performance would be acceptable.
Typical qualifications would be equivalent to:
Bachelor's degree in Child Development, Therapeutic Recreation or related field(s).Child development/Child Life experience, or related field experience preferred.KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Principles and practices of child development, therapeutic recreation.Dynamics of family relationships and family systems.Dynamics of family relationships and family systemsSkilled at:
Effective communication and listening skillsAbility to work within framework of interdisciplinary team
We are an equal opportunity employer.We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.