This internship checklist is broken into two parts! First half is all about what you can be doing BEFORE your internship to prepare. The second half focuses on what to expect once you’re there and how to make the most of your experience. You ready? PART 1 Money, Money, Money Internships are expensive! You are,…
Death, Jesus and Memory Making
I was asked this question a month ago: “I have always wondered about how child life services are implemented for death and dying situations, specifically coming from a fellow Christ-follower. I know it’s not professional to bring spirituality into the interventions, but it gives me conflicting thoughts. What are your thoughts and experiences…?” Death and…
Practicing For Your Practicum
While the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) doesn’t currently require a practicum, completing one makes you a competitive candidate when applying for an internship. Some people even complete two practicums to make themselves that much more competitive of an applicant. For those of you that have already secured your practicum and are eager to…
Procedure Prep: Take Your PICC
PICC lines are often used for long-term medication or for patients who have veins that frequently “go bad”. What I mean by “going bad” is that these veins often stop working due to being overworked or because the patient has small, thin veins to begin with that collapse the second a small straw (IV) is…
Donut Know What To Do: Coronavirus and Volunteering
The basis of becoming a child life specialist is centered around paid/volunteer experiences with children and if you’re stuck in your house for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus- how can you best be using your time? Here’s a few ways to virtually volunteer!
Donut Know What To Do: Intern to Professional
The question remains…what do I do now? There’s no cookie-cutter, correct answer to this question…However, here a few tips to set you up for success as you go from intern to professional!
Unpopular Opinion: I Like Being the Toy Lady
“I have a special friend that will come bring you some toys” I overhear the nurse say to her patient as I’m gowning up to enter the room on contact precautions to introduce myself and child life services. I roll my eyes as she makes her way out of the room and lets me know…
Pet Pig Named Moana
Interviews are so nerve-wrecking. How do you remain yourself throughout the interview? How do you make sure that you’re not just a shell of a person answering all of the questions “correctly”? I’ve got the answer here!
Recipe to Becoming a Certified Child Life Specialist
After receiving multiple direct messages on my Instagram page from a variety of students in different walks of life, I realized everyone was asking for the same thing – DIRECTION. This one is for you! Where To Begin: Volunteering First and foremost, get into a volunteer position under a Certified Child Life Specialist at a local…
Going Psycho over the Psychosocial Development Stages
It’s so important for you to know your theories, especially Erikson’s Psychosocial Development stages prior to going into an interview. Study up on these and be able to recite them like you do your ABC’s! Thank me later!
Hey, Hey! Piaget!
Piaget’s Cognitive Development stages are such an important theory to know prior to going into interviews for internship. Study up on these and be able to recite them like you do your ABC’s! Thank me later!
Hot and Ready Interview Tips
Raise your hand if you’re someone who likes to be as prepared as possible prior to an interview. You have your flash cards, printed off documents, resources about the hospitals you’ve applied to, and a piece of paper that says something like “smile and be yourself,” because you NEED to crush this. I got you….
Child Life, Wild Life 