V. Administration

As child life continues to remain a relatively new or less familiar discipline for those working in or receiving care in the healthcare environment, one crucial role of the child life specialist is to advocate for and educate about the work and role of child life. Child life has continued an upward progression in exposure and recognition as the field has grown and shown its relevance to the needs of children and families in the healthcare setting. But to continue this trend and growth, it's important that child life professionals accurately and actively portray the field as it can support others in a working environment. Furthermore, when considering the needs and goals of a child and their family, child life specialists should use their professional lens to express the ways in which they see family-centered care could best be delivered and accommodated to align with this mission. 

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In my own experiences and interactions as a student intern, at Boston Children’s Hospital and Good Shepherd Community Care Pedi Pal, I was fortunate enough to experience departments and other clinicians who strove to support and uplift the child life profession. Specifically, at Pedi Pal, I was amazed to see how child life had been integrated into the network of other professionals during team meetings, case conferences, and other interdisciplinary communication. Child life specialists presented alongside nursing, social work, and music therapy, with all perspectives being taken equally into the consideration of a care plan. After taking on a patient’s care independently, I was able to present during this team meeting and was excited to see how the team actively listened and reflected on my interactions with their own findings. I hope in the future that I will be able to join a team which is similarly supportive and communicative and if not, I can use this as a model for the ways in which a working environment can be formatted to best support family-centered care.

Evidence