Child Life Specialist, Child Life, Per Diem

Exemption Status: Non-Exempt Hiring Range: $23.36 - $42.04 Schedule Details: Monday through Friday, Weekends (Saturday and Sunday) Scheduled Hours: varied Shift: 4 - Mixed Shift, 8 Hours (United States of America) Hours: 0 Cost Center: 10020 - 0509 Child Life Signing Bonus: This position may have a signing bonus available; a member of the Recruitment Team will confirm eligibility during the interview process. Creates a welcoming, stress‑reducing environment in a variety of pediatric settings, including inpatient units, outpatient clinics, radiology, pediatric surgery, and the emergency department. Through the direct intervention strategies of pre‑procedure and pre‑operative teaching, medical and therapeutic play, the Child Life Specialist provides psychosocially sound, family‑centered support to children 0‑21 years of age and their families. Major Responsibilities Assesses and interacts with patients and families using theories of human growth and development, family systems, and cultural background. Creates a therapeutic, safe environment for individual patients or small groups on inpatient units, playrooms, clinic and emergency waiting areas, and in treatment rooms. Facilitates the child/adolescent mastery of and coping. Provides interventions including divisional and recreational play, medical play, developmental/skill retention support and seasonal celebrations. Provides emotional and educational support to patients and families coping with life‑threatening, terminal illness or death. In collaboration with the health‑care team, creates individualized pre‑procedure and pre‑surgery preparation which is developmentally appropriate and best meets the child/adolescent learning style and emotional state. Creates coping strategy with child/family and accompanies family to procedure/surgery. Functions as a member of the interdisciplinary health‑care team, relaying pertinent patient assessments through direct report, charting, family care conferences and team meetings. Provides consultation and direct teaching on variety of Child Life issues for parents, medical and nursing staff and students, including normal growth and development, health‑care impact on coping and stress, and ameliorative interventions. Facilitates acquisition of hospital or homebound tutor for child/adolescent experiencing extended school absence due to accident or chronic illness. Participates in a variety of Children’s Medical Center fundraising events and outreach programs. Follows all safety and infection control guidelines in each setting, monitoring toys and materials for age‑appropriateness and wear. Maintains adequate level of toys and materials through review of inventory and timely acquisition of new items to ensure a safe, developmentally appropriate, and family‑friendly environment. Standard Staffing Level Responsibilities Complies with established departmental policies, procedures and objectives. Attends variety of meetings, conferences, seminars as required or directed. Demonstrates use of Quality Improvement in daily operations. Complies with all health and safety regulations and requirements. Respect diverse views and approaches, demonstrates Standards of Respect, and contributes to creating and maintaining an environment of professionalism, tolerance, civility and acceptance toward all employees, patients and visitors. Maintains regular, reliable, and predictable attendance. Performs other similar and related duties as required or directed. All responsibilities are essential job functions. Position Qualifications License/Certification/Education (Required): Bachelor of Science in Child Life, Child Development or related field. Must have current Child Life Certification or pass Child Life Certification Exam within one year of employment. Experience/Skills (Required): Incumbent must be enthusiastic and dedicated to providing quality Child Life services to children and families in a variety of health‑care settings. Ability to demonstrate positive and effective interpersonal and communication skills. Must be a self‑starter, flexible, and possess ability to work well independently. Unless certification, licensure or registration is required, an equivalent combination of education and experience which provides proficiency in the areas of responsibility listed in this description may be substituted for the above requirements. Physical Demands and Environmental Conditions Work is considered sedentary. Position requires work indoors in a patient care environment. Additional Responsibilities Assesses and develops individualized procedural support plans and supports patients during procedures such as blood draws, IV starts, immunizations, port accesses, etc. Advocates, educates, and helps facilitate KCP principles such as comfort positioning, use of treatment room, numbing, distraction, and sucrose/breastfeeding. Serves as an active member of the Kid’s Comfort Promise Initiative team attending all committee meetings and trainings. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. We’re striving to make respect a part of everything we do at UMass Memorial Health – for our patients, our community and each other. Our six Standards of Respect are: Acknowledge, Listen, Communicate, Be Responsive, Be a Team Player and Be Kind. If you share these Standards of Respect, we hope you will join our team and help us make respect our standard for everyone, every day. As an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, UMass Memorial Health recognizes the power of a diverse community and encourages applications from individuals with varied experiences, perspectives and backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity and expression, protected veteran status or other status protected by law. If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at View email address on click.appcast.io. We will make every effort to respond to your request for disability assistance as soon as possible. #J-18808-Ljbffr UMass Memorial Health