We are recruiting for a motivated Child Life Specialist I to join our team!

We are here for life's journey. Where is your life journey taking you?

Being the heartbeat of Denver means our heart reflects something bigger than ourselves, something that connects us all:

Humanity in action, Triumph in hardship, Transformation in health.

DepartmentDenver Safe Ctr(Family Crisis)

Job Summary

A Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) is educated and clinically trained to use trauma-informed care and evidence-based developmentally and psychologically appropriate interventions to help children and families in their coping with illness, injury, trauma, disability, loss, and bereavement. Child Life services are carried out in the unique SAFE Center setting through developmentally appropriate preparation for medical visits, facilitating medical play, normalizing the environment and creating a non-threatening space, clearing up possible misconceptions, facilitating therapeutic interventions, providing emotional safety, providing coping skills education, providing emotions education, and providing procedural support during: vitals, physical exams, hair follicle tests, colposcopies, blood work, occasionally skeletal surveys, and other various applicable procedu

Essential Functions: Clinical Interventions: Develops a plan of care including interventions to address the needs of the child and family. * Family and sibling support: Utilizing a family-centered care approach to ensure the patient and family's individual, cultural, and social needs are met and to provide developmentally appropriate education and support to other children in the family to help them cope with a family member in the hosp * Preparation and procedural support: Provides psychological preparation to children prior to undergoing medical procedures using expressive/medical play and other techniques to minimize stress or fears related to medical procedures. * Developmental/Therapeutic play: Uses normative and/or therapeutic play opportunities to encourage expression of feelings, process difficult events, explore positive coping skills, promote a sense of mastery and understanding of health care experiences, and to minimize stress associated with health care experiences. * Recognizes the developmental issues specifically related to healthcare experiences. * Diagnosis education: Utilizing developmentally appropriate language to explain a new diagnosis, injury, illness, or death. * Grief support: Providing memory making and legacy building items, developmentally appropriate education and resources for families, and facilitating bedside visits. (50%) Communication: * Monitors the child's reaction to hospitalization and provides the staff with timely information to supplement the health care services to the child. * Consults with family and staff to ensure clear communication and that the best interests of the patient are consistently met. * Provides education regarding the scope of child life services, the impact of health care on development, providing developmentally appropriate and emotionally safe medical care, and professional boundaries. (15%) Assessment: * Assessing the patient's current developmental level and providing interventions to enhance development. * Completing Psychosocial Risk Assessment in Pediatrics to evaluate and mitigate pediatric medical traumatic stress. (15%) Charting: * Documents services in patient chart. * Updates documentation as care plans change. (10%) Supply Management: * Selects and maintains program materials related to the Child Life role including but not limited to both developmental & normative toys/items, distraction items, and technology. (5%) Volunteers/Student Management: * Supervises volunteers and others participating in the Child Life Program. (5%)

Education: Bachelor's Degree required.

Work Experience: Two years of experience as a Certified C ild Life Specialist in a hospital setting is highly preferred.

Licenses: CCLS-Certified Child Life Specialist - ACLP - Association of Child Life Professionals required, or eligible for CCLS (must be certified within 6 months of hire). BLS-Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) - AHA - American Heart Association required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. Child Life-Intermediate of knowledge and expertise of normal human growth and development. With intermediate skill set to provide clinical child life