The Celebration of Child Life Month continues….
Here is a guest blog post from Diane a child life specialist and blogger at Adventures In Child Life
Hello! My adventure in child life began my junior year in college when my child development professor briefly mentioned the career in one of his lectures. I took note of it and googled it as soon as I got home. As I was reading the Child Life Council’s webpage I remember thinking, this is it! This is what I want to be when I grow up. I graduated with my bachelors degree for Child Development and Spanish in the Spring of 2012.
After moving back home, I began volunteering at a local children’s hospital with the child life department while also taking “Intro to child life” online taught by a child life specialist. In January 2013 I began my practicum where I really got a taste for the field and loved it more and more every day.
In September 2013, I started my internship where I learned all of the ins and outs about Child Life. I will always have a soft spot for the hospital. I completed my internship and I grew so much professionally and emotionally during my time there.
Three weeks before completing my internship, my supervisor and I had finished revising my new and improved Child Life Resume. On Saturday night (because, as you all may know, during a child life internship you are so exhausted that weekends become sleep in and stay in bed all day). I decided to apply to a child life job just for fun and to see how the application process went. The following week I got a call back from that hospital for an interview! Needless to say, the last two weeks of my internship were the two busiest weeks of my life. I was not only putting the finishing touches on assignments I had to turn in, two case studies to write, and managing my own unit, I was also preparing for a Child Life job interview!
The Monday after my internship had finished, I was offered a child life job! I am now a child life specialist working in a pediatric emergency room. I couldn’t be any happier!
I am now currently studying for the certification exam which I am taking at the end of March (I hope to get some good vibes being that I’m taking my exam during Child Life month!). I am also registered to go to conference this year which I am ecstatic about!
Go, Child Life, Go!
To learn more about Diane, you can follow her blog at Adventures in Child Life
If you have a story that you would like to share about working with a child life specialist, finding the field or how your program is celebrating, please click here
