Looking Back on My Internship

Prior to graduating, I needed to complete an internship under the supervision of a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) at a hospital, near or far. I applied to several places, mostly in NJ, not thinking to apply to the states that my relatives lived in. Thankfully after several interviews at various hospitals, I landed an internship. I say thankfully because there were many people that were supposed to graduate with me, but didn't get an internship and therefore, had to switch their major in order to graduate on time, OR delay graduation for another semester, which doesn't sound all that bad, but I was determined, to say the least, to graduate in May of 2012.

The internship was from January to April - a 530 hour unpaid internship. I kept my job during the weekends, so I would have money for gas, and so I would still be getting experience working with children outside of the hospital, as a child care provider. I was also taking an art therapy class, that would enable me to graduate on time. It wasn't stressful, and good thing too, because the internship was A LOT of work. Of course, the supervisors give you a huge binder on your first day that includes every reading and writing assignment and project list, including a final project of your choice, on that would help the hospital in any way.

You might want an explanation of what a Certified Child Life Specialist is, though, because most people haven't even heard of it. While I could easily explain it to you in my own words, I'd rather you get the full description according to the Child Life Council.

According to the Child Life Council:

What is a Child Life Specialist?

Child life specialists are trained professionals with expertise in helping children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events.

Armed with a strong background in child development and family systems, child life specialists promote effective coping through play, preparation, education, and self-expression activities. They provide emotional support for families, and encourage optimum development of children facing a broad range of challenging experiences, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization. Because they understand that a child’s wellbeing depends on the support of the family, child life specialists provide information, support and guidance to parents, siblings, and other family members. They also play a vital role in educating caregivers, administrators, and the general public about the needs of children under stress. 

During my internship, I had the chance to intern in three different departments - the Valerie Fund [outpatient hematology/oncology clinic], the PICU, and general Pediatrics. While I can't name my favorite, because they are so different, I fell in love with the PICU and Pediatrics floor because of all the time I was able to spend with each patient, but I loved the hematology/oncology patients who I was able to meet both in the clinic and on the inpatient floors. 

I was not only able to help infants, children, and adolescents in the treatment room through blood draws, IV inserts, and heel sticks, I was also able to occupy them in their rooms on what it seemed like to be long, and tiring days - meeting new people, preparing themselves for upcoming medical procedures, and having surgery - and play with them in the playroom / teen lounge. I also had the chance to research about different diseases and cultures, as well as present them to my supervisors. Not only that but I created activities two days a week to do with the children in the playroom, never knowing how many children I would have or their ages until that day. Finally, I completed various things to help the hospital including bulletin boards [information and fun!] and my final project - a guidebook for teachers and faculty on various chronic illnesses to not only help them, but their students to understand.

The first question that people ask me when I tell them that I am going to be a child life specialist, and then once I further explain what I am going to do - "I will work in pediatric children's hospitals (though there are alternatives to where we can work - dentist offices, funeral homes, rehab centers, etc.) with children who are suffering from various chronic illnesses and diseases, helping them understand on their developmental level, using age-appropriate interventions, including several different types of play, what is happening to them, to make the hospitalization a little less scary and frightening" - is how do I have the strength to work with "dying children?"

Well first and foremost, not all of the children are in fact dying. There are some that are though, but when I'm working with these children, I don't think about their impending death because these children are still children and they just want to play. You can't even tell that some of these children have a life-threatening illness! It's certainly amazing to me, so I let the question go sometimes, because everyone has this preconceived notions that children go to the hospital with these illnesses to die, but they go to LIVE. The children's hospitals are not as you picture them in your mind, at least none that I have volunteered at, interned at, or toured.

I'm making a difference, in short, in the lives of children who need encouragement and love.

Sometimes it's hard not to get attached to the children, and sometimes I think it's necessary to get attached, in order to give them the best support they need. 

I am so lucky to have found this career, and cannot wait to be certified in November after taking the exam. If you'd like to know more about child life, please don't hesitate to ask me or click on the link to the child life website. 

Advocate for your CCLS in the hospital - I'm telling you, we make a difference.