Welcome to the World of Child Life

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Welcome to the World of Child Life

• Presented By
• Beth Welch, M.S., C.C.L.S.

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What is a Child Life Specialist?

• A Child Life Specialist is a trained
  professional who strives to minimize the stress
  and anxiety children and adolescents experience
  while undergoing medical treatment.

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What Does a Child Life Specialist Do?

• The Specialist employs a variety of
  interventions, including education, therapeutic
  play, family centered care, pain management
  techniques, care plans and grief interventions
  that provide opportunities to enhance the
  children's self-esteem, coping skills and
  independence.

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What Are the Benefits of Child Life?

• Child life programs in health care settings
  promote optimum development of children and their
  families, to maintain normal living patterns and
  to minimize psychological trauma.

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Why Do We Have Child Life?

• Child life specialists help reduce the stress
  and anxiety that many children experience in
  hospital and healthcare settings.
• Child life programs can reduce the stress
  experienced by children and families and enhance
  their abilities to cope effectively with and gain
  from potentially stressful situations.

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When Should I Contact a Child Life Specialist?

• When a patient is first admitted to the hospital
• Prior to surgery
• After surgery
• Prior to procedures
• Anytime a patient needs an extra bit of help or
  joy

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How Do I Contact a Child Life Specialist?

• Please contact Leslie Young (Director of Child
  Life) or John Bartelt (Professor of Education) at
  the University of La Verne, 909-593-3511. If you
  wish to reach Beth Welch (the author of this
  presentation), Leslie or John will forward your
  contact information to Beth.

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Always remember.

• It Takes More Than Just Medicine

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Resources

• Child Life Council www.childlife.org

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• Child Life in the Outpatient Surgery Center

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Child Life Mission for the Outpatient Surgery
Center

• If the psychological self is not well, the
  physical self may never be well. Our mission is
  to help reduce the stress and anxiety caused by
  surgery, which affects the health and well-being
  of infants, toddlers, school-aged children, and
  teenagers. Because we believe illness and injury
  invokes itself on parents, outside caregivers,
  and siblings as well, they should also receive
  Child Life support. This is done through
  therapeutic play, clinical education,
  assessments, interventions, and advocacy.

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Why Is It Important To Prepare Children for
Surgery?

• Children need accurate, reassuring explanations
  of illness, hospitalization, surgery, or other
  procedures, presented in a manner appropriate to
  their level of understanding. Without such
  explanations, children are left to formulate
  their own, often weaving fantasies and misguided
  observations into frightening inaccuracies.
• Child Life in Hospitals (1981) page 8

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How Child Life Helps Patients and Families?

• Child Life Interventions can help
• Alleviate stress caused by surgery and the
  hospital
• Maintain patient growth and development
• Maintain normalcy in child and familys lives
• Provide a means of self expression about the
  surgery and hospital through verbal and
  non-verbal means
• Children find ways for coping with pain and
  discomfort during medical tests
• Children and families better understand the
  hospital and surgery process

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Preparing Patients and Families for Surgery and
The Child Life Specialists Role

• Most of the time, families do not understand
  medical terminology or medical procedures.
• Families are often uniformed about their rights
  in the hospital and how they can be involved in
  their childs care.
• Children need someone to help them understand
  surgery in a developmentally appropriate way.
• Research shows that proper preparation can
  increase patient/family satisfaction of hospital
  experience

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Child Life Objectives for Surgery
Patients/Families

• To find out what specific and unique concerns
  each patient and family has regarding the
  upcoming surgery

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Child Life Interventions in Outpatient Surgery

• Clinical Education
• Books
• Films
• Pictures
• Articles
• Sibling Intervention Program
• Assessments
• Preparation Programs
• Medical Play Therapy

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Other Interventions a Child Life Specialist Might
Use in the Surgery Center

• Distraction
• Relaxation
• Guided Imagery
• Participating in Therapeutic Activities
• Journaling
• Activities that provide an opportunity for self
  expression of feelings (example art)

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Outpatient Surgery Preparation Program

• Pre-Surgery Tours Offer
• Patient and family a chance to visit the
  admitting office, pre-operative area, surgery
  suite, post-op care area, and playroom.
• An opportunity to ask questions.
• A chance for children to see and play with
  medical equipment, encouraging the expression of
  their feelings and/or concerns about surgery.

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Other Services Offered

• Parent Support Group
• The Outpatient Surgery Parent Support Group meets
  the first and third Wednesday of each month.
• Sibling Program
• Offered daily in the Child Life Outpatient
  Surgery Playroom.

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Key Points to Remember

• When talking to children about surgery and
  medical procedures, it is important to remember
  how they think.
• Dropping down to their eye level will help the
  child feel less threatened.
• The child should be informed about Child Life and
  who the Child Life Specialist is.