CHILD LIFE SPECIALIST

About the Position: This position is located at Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii.

This position is being filled under the Expedited Hiring Authority for Shortage Category and/or Critical Need Health Care Occupations.

Federal employees in Hawaii are currently entitled to receive a 10.99% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) in addition to the base salary. This is subject to change.

Must be certified by the Child Life Council as a Child Life Professional.

This position has specific initial background investigation and periodic re-verification requirements since its duties require contact with children.

Works directly for the Director of Pediatric Nursing and the Chief, Pediatric Product Line. Acts as a Child Life Specialist and resource person for health care professionals and ancillary personnel within the Pediatric Product Line and the entire Medical Center. Provide programming coordination by recommending specific instructions that may be carried out by both medical and nursing personnel to support the care of pediatric patients throughout the facility.

1. Child Life Specialist (CLS) provides child life programming to TAMC pediatric patients, including educational, recreational, and therapeutic activities. The incumbent plays a key role in observing and advocating for children and families. Observations of behaviors and interactions during activities are recorded in the patient's charts and provide essential information to the health care team and contribute to the total patient care plan.

Child Life Specialist demonstrates competence in the provision of child life services by suitable education and experience as determined by the Child Life Certifying Commission.

2. Identifies, Documents, Designs, organizes and implements appropriate activities through assessment of the youths individual needs to encourage healthy growth and development. Assesses the needs of parents and siblings of the hospitalized children to help them deal with the additional stress that an illness imposes on the family. Develops, coordinates and implements a specific hospital orientation and pre-admission programs for children and their families. Implements specific modalities for preparation of children and adolescents in conjunction with the medical and nursing team. Evaluates and documents effectiveness of care provided and revises plans as needed using judgment in selecting course of action in implementing plans and interpreting appropriateness according to patient's changing condition. Serves as a member of the health care team, providing expertise and coordination in planning the care of the pediatric patients and their families to provide continuity of care. Communicates patient's progress and/or adverse changes to appropriate members of the health care team via multi-disciplinary conferences and round table or chart documentation.

3. Supervises and provides training to ward personnel, volunteers, students and other specialists besides pediatrics, such as physical therapy, orthopedics, etc. Interprets the consult/requests, provides appropriate activity and evaluates the reaction of the patient. Insures proper orientation and interpretation of the program to all hospital staff through in-service education. Formulates in-service training and lectures staff and the local community on the emotional needs of hospitalized children. Orients and directs activities of volunteers and entertainment groups assigned to unit during working hours. Works with coordinator on recruitment and orientation procedure development. Designs a program to offer training/practicum experience for a student in a Child Life educational program.

4. Maintains creative play areas and materials throughout the hospital. Plans and develops a security system for these supplies/equipment. Maintains correspondence (e.g., letters of appreciation) to groups and acknowledges donations to the department. Oversees the advertising and scheduling of special events, educational bulletin boards, and flyers.
Monitors and maintains the use of materials and equipment throughout working hours. Assists in the selection, storage and maintenance of all educational and recreational materials. Evaluates materials on a continuing basis for safety, cleanliness and relevance to program.

5. Serves as Pediatric Liaison to Human Bond Program. Knowledge of unique cultural differences for the indigenous peoples from Pacific Island nations. Serves as Pediatric Liaison to Military Support/Spouses Clubs for volunteer projects and hospital renovations to Pediatric areas of the hospital. Serves as Pediatric Liaison to outside non-profit organizations volunteering medical expertise for pediatric children internationally. Representative for Pediatrics/Protocol VIP tours . Participation in District affiliate meetings and child life interest groups is encouraged.

6. Provide pre-op education on an outpatient basis to educate patients on upcoming procedures. Provide community/school education, re-entry education.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Demonstrated competence in provision of services by suitable education and experience as outlined by the Child Life Certifying Commission Standards of Practice and Clinical Competencies.

Knowledge of established Child Life theory, practice and procedures necessary to provide therapeutic activities and counseling to patients and families. Knowledge of normal child development and the psychosocial effects of illness and hospitalization upon the development of children, as well as their families. Basic understanding of medical terminology, basic learning theory, lesson planning and curriculum development, knowledge of group management skills and safety regulations regarding working with groups of children with complex illnesses and technical machinery.

Knowledge of parenting skills, behavior management techniques and strategies to manage emotional trauma. Clinical skills to provide specialized services to critically and terminally ill patients and maintain programming for less critically ill children.

Knowledge and ability to communicate formally and informally, normal and adverse reactions to hospitalization and intervention/prevention strategies against regression and adverse reactions. Ability to match coping skills to developmental and emotional status of patient and particular stressor.

Knowledge/ability to evaluate program and services and make quick adaptations. Ability to prioritize, assess and evaluate patient needs and direct work or students and volunteers to structured duties and assignments matching abilities to tasks.

Knowledge of multidisciplinary approach to patient care and good communication skills necessary to communicate concisely and accurately to team members integrating Child Life theory and practice with overall team care plan. Communication is done verbally at patient care conferences, rounds and reports and /or in patient's medical chart. Good writing skills and knowledge of documentation procedures necessary to record pertinent data in patient's permanent medical record and to make appropriate referrals to other services.
Knowledge of unique cultural differences for the indigenous peoples from the Pacific Island nations. Ability to provide Child Life programming with experience in a military setting. Skill in the design, coordination and execution of child care environments in a developmental center.

Skill in using a personal computer to generate necessary correspondence for the department.

Supervisory Controls

Incumbent develops educational, recreational and therapeutic activities using departmental resources and reports assessment of individual patients. Employee carries out duties in accordance with guidelines and established standards of the Child Life Council. Employee independently sets up prioritizes, plans, and develops individual and group activities. Incumbent independently reacts to individual patient needs and emergencies, collaborates with nursing and the medical team and makes appropriate changes in patient activity plan. Work is reviewed periodically for effectiveness and adherence to professional standards and requirements of the department. After initial orientation period, Child Life Specialist meets periodically with Director of Pediatric Nursing and Chief of Pediatric Product Line to discuss goals for the department.