Since I have completed two different child life practicums, I feel I have obtained a broader understanding of the child life profession that has greatly prepared me for my internship experience.  To learn more about my practicum experiences, please click on the Child Life Experiences tab!

 

My first practicum at MercyOne Children's Hospital was primarily procedure-based and very rigorous; it provided me with a strong foundation in medical terminology, developmental theory, and child life assessment and intervention techniques.  I wrote chart notes for my supervisors and provided preparation and procedural support to several adolescent patients in Medical Imaging.  I was also able to normalize the hospital environment for 5 pediatric patients from Yucatan, Mexico who had been brought to MercyOne for life-saving heart operations through MercyOne's Yucatan Heart Program.  Despite the language barrier, I didn't have a ton of trouble communicating with these patients because play is the universal language of children!  For my final project, I created sensory resource boxes that promote effective coping in pediatric patients with autism diagnoses.

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While my second practicum at HSHS St. Vincent Children's Hospital was primarily play-based, it really helped me develop confidence in my ability to introduce services and build rapport with patients and families.  I was given numerous opportunities to put the assessment and intervention skills I had acquired during my first practicum to the test, and was very successful at developing therapeutic play interventions that met patients' individual psychosocial goals.