Are you a Certified Child Life Specialist (or almost certified?) If so, we would love to come to PeaceHealth and join our family of caregivers! 

PeaceHealth is seeking a Child Life Specialist -Pediatrics for a Full Time, exempt, day shift position. Hourly compensation is $27.47 - $41.21; hiring rate dependent on qualifications, professional experience, and/or work location.

*The Child Life Certification requires certain academic and clinical coursework, please see below for additional information.

More about this opportunity:

The Child Life Specialists empowers children for life’s challenges while providing high quality family-centered care as a part of a strong multidisciplinary team. 

You will:

• Provide psychosocial and developmental based assessment and support to both patients and their families. 
• Plan and provide emotionally and developmentally appropriate care that promotes effective coping with health care and continued cognitive and emotional growth
• Serve as a resource and advocate on child development issues. 

Responsibilities:

1. Assess the psychosocial and emotional status of patients and their family's consequent to illness and/or hospitalization through direct contact, interaction and observation, consultation with other healthcare professionals, and medical records.
2. Initiate therapeutic interventions consequent to assessment of individual patients and families.
3. Report and/or document observations, assessments, and interventions, to other healthcare professionals via rounds, reports, conferences, and meetings as appropriate.
4. Establish and maintain a supportive, helpful and trusting relationship with patients and families by helping in the preparation for medical and surgical procedures, home care, discharge planning. Facilitate coping from the time of admission through to discharge and follow-up.
5. Plan, evaluate and implement an overall program of therapeutic interventions designed to address the psychosocial and emotional needs of hospitalized children and families. This may include: pre-procedural preparation, patient/family education, therapeutic play and recreation, group interaction, and activities that facilitate patient’s/families' sense of well-being, mastery and competence.
6. Advocate for individual patient’s/families concerns, special needs and rights, and makes appropriate referrals to individuals, groups or agencies within the hospital or community.
7. Assist in the design, implementation, evaluation and maintenance of therapeutic activity areas as needed.
8. Manages the utilization of materials and equipment within the program, and ensures they are used in an appropriate, safe, secure and cost-efficient manner.
9. Performs other duties as assigned.

What you bring!

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s degree in Child Life or a closely related field preferred.

In order to qualify for the CCLS certification, degree needs to be from an ACLP endorsed academic program OR coursework needs to include:

•  Child Life course taught by a CCLS
• Minimum of 2 child developmental courses that cover birth - age 18
• Family Systems course
• Play course
• Loss/bereavement or death/dying course
• Research course
• 3 additional courses in related content

EXPERIENCE/TRAINING:

• Experience as a Certified Child Life Specialist preferred
• Training and experience commensurate with certification requirement.

LICENSE/CERTIFICATION:

• Child Life Specialist certification required within 6 months of hire*
• Current BLS (Basic Life Support) certification required at date of hire.
• Valid driver’s license if position requires.

*Please note that in order to become certified as a Child Life Specialist, you must meet certain academic and clinical requirements to sit for the exam. To learn more, please see the certification link: 

https://www.childlife.org/certification/become-certified

Skills

• Demonstrated knowledge of and competency in therapeutic relationships, human growth and development, family dynamics, interpersonal communication, developmental observation/assessment, learning process, behavior management, group dynamics, children's reaction to illness and hospitalization, therapeutic interventions, and play and activities. (Required)
• Demonstrated knowledge of childhood diseases, and medical terminology. (Required)
• Ability to interpret a patient's self-reporting or behaviors. (Required)
• Ability to provide effective preparation and procedural support. (Required)
• Ability to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing with staff, management, physicians, patients, families, visitors, and the public. (Required)
• Ability to prioritize, organize, multi-task and complete duties/projects on time. (Required)
• Ability to establish and maintain effective work relationships with staff, management, and other healthcare team members. (Required)
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, problem solve and make decisions. (Required)
• Ability to work effectively in a team and independently. (Required)
• Ability to attend to details. (Required)
• Proficient computer skills with Microsoft applications including Outlook and Word. (Required)

About PeaceHealth

PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Washington, is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a medical group practice with more than 1,200 providers and 9 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest.•PeaceHealth has once again been recognized for the health and wellness of our caregivers as one of the Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America. - Healthiest Employers•For the third year in a row, PeaceHealth has received top ranking as the No.1 Healthiest Employer in Washington.- Springbuk•Portland Business Journal has ranked PeaceHealth as the No. 1 Healthiest Employer in Oregon in 2023.

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