Job Description

Job Summary

Child Life Specialist dedicated to adult support and children of adult patients is to be responsible for the following:

The adult support advocate has a strong foundational skillset in traditional pediatric child life specialist and utilizes an expansive knowledge of child development, childhood trauma, and grief education; to support children of adult patients with serious medical conditions. The adult support advocate provides developmentally appropriate therapeutic interventions designed to assess and enhance children\xe2\x80\x99s coping, promote understanding, address concerns, and prepare children for upcoming situations with their loved ones. The adult support advocate provides education for adults and children via disclosure and explanation of medical conditions, preparation for a death and/or bereavement support following a death, typical behavior and emotional responses to stress and trauma and childhood grief.

In addition to supporting children of adult patients, the adult support advocate will respond to cognitively delayed adult consults to offer therapeutic ideas and suggestions to increase positive coping.

Responsible for planning, implementing and evaluating individual and group child life services provided to patients through Helen DeVos Children\'s Hospital (HDVCH) in a manner which promotes age appropriate growth and development.

Essential Functions

• Assessing psychosocial needs of children and families, prior to implementing therapeutic interventions.
• Understanding and providing developmentally appropriate explanations to children and involved adult including diagnosis teaching, anticipatory grief, death and grief after loss.
• Assesses educational needs of patients and families; develops, implements, evaluates and revises educational programs such as in-services and team communication as well as provides tools which assist multidisciplinary team members in meeting the needs of patients and families.
• Acts as an active member of the Child and Family Life team providing on-going insight, planning and evaluation of a comprehensive Child and Family Life program by attending and participating in regular staff meetings and through committee involvement.
• Documents care and teaching provided consistent with documentation guidelines.
• Coordinates events, projects, and programs that support the needs of patients and families as determined by the area(s) of responsibility.
• Maintains professional competencies in the child life field through involvement with attending conferences, reading journals and participation in the Association of Child Life Professionals.

Qualifications

• Required Bachelor\'s Degree child life, child development, child psychology, early childhood education, recreational therapy or related degree
• Has worked in pediatric hospital setting for minimum of 3 years, required.
• Preferred 1 year of Extended experience working with pediatrics in a critical care setting and/or emergency department experience including end of life care and bereavements.

• Completion of a 600-hour Child Life Internship Required prior to hire

• CRT-Child Life Specialist (CCLS) - CLCC Child Life Certification Commission 1 Year required
• CRT-Basic Life Support (BLS) - AHA American Heart Association 90 Days required Or
• CRT-Basic Life Support (BLS) - ARC American Red Cross 90 Days required

Physical Demands

• Pallet to Waist (6" from floor) > 5 lbs: Seldom up to 50 lbs
• Waist to Waist > 5 lbs: Seldom up to 50 lbs
• Waist to Chest (below shoulder) > 5 lbs: Seldom up to 10 lbs
• Waist to Overhead > 5 lbs: Seldom up to 5 lbs
• Bilateral Carry > 5 lbs: Seldom up to 25 lbs
• Unilateral Carry > 5 lbs: Seldom up to 10 lbs
• Pushing Force > 5 lbs: Occasionally up to 25 lbs
• Pulling Force > 5 lbs: Occasionally up to 20 lbs
• Sitting: Occasionally
• Standing: Frequently
• Walking: Frequently
• Forward Bend - Standing: Occasionally
• Forward Bend - Sitting: Occasionally
• Trunk Rotation - Standing: Occasionally
• Trunk Rotation - Sitting: Occasionally
• Squat: Seldom
• Stair Climbing: Seldom
• Crawling / Kneeling: Seldom
• Driving: Seldom
• Reach - Above Shoulder: Occasionally
• Reach - at Shoulder or Below: Occasionally
• Handling: Occasionally
• Forceful Grip > 5 lbs: Occasionally
• Forceful Pinch > 2 lbs: Occasionally
• Finger/Hand Dexterity: Frequently
• Visual Acuity \xc2\xb9

[None = No; Seldom = Yes]: Seldom

Primary Location SITE - Helen Devos Childrens Hospital - 100 Michigan St - Grand Rapids

Department Name Child and Family Life - GR

Employment Type Full time

Shift Day (United States of America)

Weekly Scheduled Hours 40

Hours of Work 8:30-5:00

Days Worked Monday through Friday

Weekend Frequency N/A

CURRENT COREWELL HEALTH TEAM MEMBERS \xe2\x80\x93 Please apply through Find Jobs from your Workday team member account. This career site is for Non-Corewell Health team members only.

Corewell Health is committed to providing a safe environment for our team members, patients, visitors and community. That is why we require a drug-free workplace and various vaccinations as a requirement for employment.

Corewell Health grants equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, genetic information, marital status, height, weight, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other legally protected category.

An interconnected, collaborative culture where all are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work, is vital to the health of our organization. As a health system, we advocate for equity as we care for our patients, our communities, and each other. From workshops that develop cultural intelligence, to our inclusion resource groups for people to find community and empowerment at work, we are dedicated to ongoing resources that advance our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that we do. We invite those that share in our commitment to join our team.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability, you may request assistance in completing the application process by calling 616.486.7447. We are committed to granting reasonable accommodations in accordance with applicable laws.

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