Article from Light Spinner Quarterly Magazine for Child Life Specialists (March 2011 Issue)
©Sarah Mendivel
If you asked the average adult how they feel about
hospitals, you’d likely get the same reaction of fear, disgust, or disdain.
Ever wonder where that reaction comes from? They were once scared children,
hospitalized for a tonsillectomy, broken bone, or other serious aliment. It
shouldn’t be a mystery, then, to find that these adults have children with
similar fears of medical procedures. What if we supported an entire generation
of children through scary medical procedures? What if ever child had a ChildLife Specialist to explain why they you are in the hospital, what was about to
happen, and then process your emotional and physical state afterwards. My guess
is that in 20 years, when those children grew into adults who were asked the
same questions about hospitals, their reaction would be far less inclined to
the dramatic, and more neutral. We can all think of a time we wish we had a Child Life Specialist at our side.
To understand the Child Life of today, a brief
glimpse at its history is prescribed. During the early 20th century,
in an age where so little was known about the psychological effects of the
hospitalization of children, a catalyst of empathy was derived. In 1938, Emma
Plank, an Austrian-born educator and former pupil of Anna Freud, relocated to
the United States from Vienna. She pursued a Master’s degree in child
development at prestigious Mills College before moving to Cleveland, Ohio in
1951. Plank studiously assumed the role of director at the Children’s House of
University Hospital, which would later be named Hanna Perkins School.
Meanwhile, Nobel Laureate Dr. Frederick C. Robbins
was administering a children’s TB unit at the City Hospital’s Toomey Pavilion
in Cleveland. The Toomey Pavilion, a building dedicated to the treatment of
contagious disease, was serving dozens of children in need of inpatient and
outpatient services. Dr. Robbins took note of the interminable desolation that
these hospitalized children were appointed to, and thought it would benefit
them to recruit someone that could galvanize their environment. So, in 1955,
Dr. Robbins extended an invitation to Emma Plank to City Hospital (now
MetroHealth) to participate in the landmark creation of a “Child Life” program.
After seeing the success of providing child-friendly developmental, emotional,
and psychological support to hospitalized children, Plank’s practices began to
spread. During her practices, she authored Working
With Children in Hospitals in 1962, and co-founded the Association for the
Care of Children’s Health (ACCH) in 1965. Plank continued to lead the Child
Life program at City hospital until 1972.
During the 1970’s, a Child Life committee and task
force were created to actualize professional standards and accreditation for
budding Specialists to adhere to. By now, Child Life practices had spread
nationwide, and into the borders of Canada. In 1982, the Child Life Council was
born, and with it, over 200 members boasted a partnership. Since then, the
field has abounded into 3,000 plus members, contrived professional
credentialing, has been recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP),
and has begun to reach into atmospheres outside of the hospital. For such a
young field, the augmentation of accomplishment has been impressive.
Today, Child Life Specialists come into practice
destined by a standardization of professional requirements, and a unique sense
of duty. Beyond the required degree of a Child Life related field (psychology,
child development, etc.), a 480 hour clinical internship, and certification, a
Specialist is hoped to retain a list of specialized internal ingredients.
Resiliency, adaptability, empathy, optimism and patience are anticipated
affections of an ideal candidate. The
responsibilities of a modern day Specialists have flourished into an anthology
of roles; including that of an educator, counselor, advocate, and amateur
medical transcriber. “You play a different role in each department you cover,”
remarked Kimberly Grettum, Certified Child Life Specialist of Sunrise
Children’s Hospital in Nevada, “Each unit has its own personality and needs. It
makes everyday a special kind of experience.” Ultimately, a Specialist’s chief
occupation is to lessen a child’s anxiety and apprehension about the hospital
by providing support and education to the patient and his/her family. This is
essentially realized by varying methods of play therapy, sibling support,
comfort in grief, and a re-energizing of the family spirit.
So, who makes up this charismatic group of Child
Life Specialists? In a 2008 survey conducted by the Child Life Council, it was
determined that the average age of a Child Life Specialist was 31 years old and
made upwards of $40,000 a year.
The current generation of Child Life Specialists has
become a global one. With programs now blooming in Japan and Norway, it is no
surprise that the average Specialist is willing to sometimes move thousands of
miles away in pursuit of their dream position.
The insurgence of technology has also constituted new customs in the
field. Betsy Tran, a California based certified Child Life Specialist, notes
that a major difference in the newer generation of Specialists is their use of
interventions, “ Specialist coming into the field now-a-days may be able to relate
to a child differently than before,” she observes, “for instance, my favorite
distraction tool is the iPad!” An iPad was inconceivable during the 1950’s,
informing us that the culture of children has inevitably transformed since the
time of Emma Plank, and arousing the
demand that Child Life change with it. Sarah Mendivel, MS, Child Life, has
started the first child life specialist magazine this year!
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, persons unemployed for a year or more rose exponentially from 645,000 in 2007 to 4.5 million in 2010. In a field that is already highly competitive to enter into, the current recession hasn’t made for a promising boost in Child Life jobs. Due to Child Life being a “non-billable” field, it is usually at the unfortunate forefront of hospital cut backs. Because of a lack in positions, many certified Specialists have pursued careers in alternative fields, such as nursing or therapy. Bernadette Pelayo, C.C.L.S. , C.I.M.T. works as an licensed occupational therapist at Gallagher Pediatric Therapy in Fullerton, CA. She explains,” I use my knowledge of Child Life to educate children according to their developmental level while I'm treating them.” She credits her studies,” I have a better understanding of how important education and parental support can be when treating a child. It takes the support of the whole team to benefit a child's well-being.”
With the struggle of maintaining sizable teams, and
managing limited budgets, Child Life Specialists can often incur the infamous
“burnout”. Many programs exist with the
generous aid of grants and donations. Despite the red tape and monetary
insufficiencies, a young field continues to thrive by continuously stating
their value in health care.
With an unceasing interest by prospective students,
Child Life is rapidly becoming the new “it” field. “There is nothing more
rewarding than knowing you made that family’s life just a tiny bit easier by
validating and supporting them through their experiences,” shares Tina
Aguilera, C.C.L.S.. As the field matures, a standardization of care is
anticipated. At present, an extensive list of work forces and committees has
been formed by the Child Life Council to ensure such commands are met. Pelayo
comments, “The hope for the future is to spend more time participating in
meaningful interventions, and less time advocating for our existence.” This
reverie may be closer to a reality, as the new generation of passionately
curious and energetic Specialists defines what is already an astonishingly necessary
field. For more information, visit LightSpinnerQuarterly.org
