I am a Child Life Specialist

"You're a what?? Oh, so does that mean you get to play with kids all day?" You have no idea how many times I have heard this comment. I am so much more than a "playlady"! 

I have wanted to be a Child Life Specialist since I was seven years old.  A Child Life Specialist is someone who works with children in a hospital or clinic setting to provide psychosocial support and make their hospital or clinic experience as normal and positive as possible.  As the Child Life specialist in Gundersen’s Outpatient Surgery Center, I get to see all of the kids that come in for outpatient surgery.  I bring them toys to keep them busy, show them pictures of things they will see while they are there, and provide preparation and distraction for IV starts. As part of the Teddy Bear Care program that I created, I provide tours for children a few days before their surgery so they know what to expect when they come in.  I have been at Gundersen for a little over nine years, and it has been such a joy to finally be doing what I always dreamed-making the hospital experience a little less scary for the children that come in. 

I have heard horror stories from older individuals about their surgery experiences when they were younger.  One woman told me that she still remembers, 65 years later, the doctors and nurses holding her down and covering her face with chlorophorm as they put her to sleep to take out her tonsils. Now many of the nurses that I work with tell me stories of children who don’t want to leave when it’s time to go home.  Now that is what I love to hear-the story of a child who is having so much fun playing after surgery that they want to stay at the hospital all day.  Hopefully, in the future, all hospital staff will hear, “Mommy, can we come back here to play again?” as a family is walking out their doors.  Now that is great customer service!  I am so glad, in a time when our medical advancements are expanding by leaps and bounds, that the people at Gundersen Lutheran realized how important it was to provide advancements in psychosocial care as well, and I am proud to be one of the people that is able to provide that!!

 

What is Child Life?

By: Steve Slowinski, former Child Life Intern
at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center

What I’m not:
A nurse.
A doctor.
A social worker.

A “Keeper of the Toys.”
A magical “make-this-kid-not-cry”
person.
Only someone to play with the kids.

I’m not superfluous.

What I am:
I am a teacher,
A helping hand,
A support,
An advocate,
An active listener,
A therapeutic touch,
And a child development specialist
Every.
Single.
Day.

I am an OR prep-er,
An IV teacher,
A de-coder of PICC, VCUG, MRI and
NG,
A distraction provider,
An inpatient support,
And a guide and voice for siblings
All in the same day.

I am calm despite cancer, CAT scans,
and catheters.
I am strong in the face of syncope,
sickle cell, and surgery.
Kids can’t always do these things for
themselves.
That’s why I’m here.

I am deliberate in all of my actions and
words
Because I use the language of children
And it has power.
I am flexible and go where I’m needed
Because children can’t always be
flexible
About when they’re going to freak.

I am not here to merely play with
children, give them toys, and distract
them
With “SpongeBob”.

I’m a Child Life Specialist.
When kids say they can’t, I tell them
they can. 

To learn more about child life-check out the Child Life Council website!