Child Life Practicum Program
Overview
Randall Children’s Hospital and Kaiser Permanente are partnering to offer a shared child life practicum experience. The purpose of this child life practicum is to prepare individuals for a child life internship and expose them to the role of a Certified Child Life Specialist in a variety of medical settings.
The practicum follows Association of Child Life Professional's recommended standards and provides the student with an opportunity to become familiar with the role of child life in the hospital and children’s reactions to hospitalization. The practicum consists of observing Certified Child Life Specialists at both Randall Children’s Hospital and Kaiser Permanente. At Randall Children’s Hospital, students will have the opportunity to observe specialists who provide services throughout the entire hospital including: emergency department, radiology, inpatient medical/surgical, PICU, hematology/oncology, cardiac, pediatric rehabilitation, burn unit, NICU, and children of adult patients. At Kaiser Permanente students will have the opportunity to observe Certified Child Life Specialists in the ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient pediatric clinics, and MRI.
Goals
During the practicum program at Randall Children’s Hospital and Kaiser Permanente, the practicum student’s experience will include:
- Establish a personal level of comfort in the hospital environment
- Observe a variety of clinical experiences, resulting in a basic understanding of a child life specialist's role in the hospital
- Demonstrate knowledge regarding children’s responses to hospitalization
- Learn basic approaches of preparation and medical play
- Apply play and developmental theories to interactions with hospitalized patients
- Develop the ability to build rapport with patients and engage them in therapeutic activities
- Learn how to introduce self and child life services to patients and families
- Demonstrate the ability to set goals and objectives to enhance personal and professional development
- Complete a project designed to enhance the child life program
- Complete assignments including readings related to child life, journaling, and developmental assessments to enhance the student's understanding of child development and hospitalized children
- Conduct self in a professional manner (appearance, punctuality, flexibility, communication, etc.)
Requirements
To be considered for the child life practicum program, individuals must meet the following minimum requirements:
- Have or be seeking a Bachelor’s degree (minimum of a junior status) in a field related to child life
- Please see the Association of Child Life Professional's eligibility requirements for guidance on coursework.
- Please see the Association of Child Life Professional’s eligibility requirements for guidance on coursework.
- Minimum of 100 hours of working or volunteering with atypically developing or hospitalized children
- Minimum of 100 hours of working or volunteering with typically developing or well children
- Minimum 3.0 GPA
In addition, practicum students must meet the requirements to be a volunteer at Randall Children’s Hospital, including: an interview and orientation with the volunteer coordinator, background check and proof of immunizations, including up-to-date tuberculosis test. Practicum students must adhere strictly to volunteer policies, including wearing volunteer photo identification at all times.
Application process
All application packets are reviewed thoroughly. Selected individuals will be contacted by telephone to arrange an interview.
To be considered for the practicum, the following must be submitted in a single mailing by the application deadline. Incomplete or late application packets will not be considered.
- Transcripts from all colleges/universities attended (student/unofficial copy is acceptable)
- Current resume
- Two professional letters of recommendation from individuals who have directly observed the applicant’s work with children and families and/or academic work. Letters must be written on official letterhead and enclosed in signed and sealed envelopes.
- Completed practicum application
- Randall Children’s Hospital volunteer department application
Application Deadlines and Offer Dates
At this time our practicum program is put on hold until further notice. We will update this webpage as soon as a plan is made to restart our program. Please check back for more information at a later date.
