Child Life Specialist Job at Tucson Medical Center (Tucson)

Child Life Specialist

Tucson Medical Center

Location:
United States , Tucson

Category:
Nursing

Contract Type:
Not provided

Salary:

Not provided

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Job Description:

Provides expert psychosocial, emotional, developmental, and educational support to pediatric patients and their families. Prepares patients for medical experiences and develops individualized treatment plans to reduce the stress and trauma associated with illness, injury, diagnosis, and hospitalization. Promotes coping, resilience, and wellbeing, and helps normalize the hospital environment to support growth and development. Collaborates with members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team, and orients and supervises pediatric volunteers and child life interns.

Job Responsibility:

Performs thorough assessments of patient and family psychosocial, developmental, and educational needs
Explains medical procedures and treatments in developmentally appropriate ways
educates children/families on new diagnoses using appropriate teaching materials
Provides support during medical procedures using distraction techniques, comfort positioning, emotional support, and breathing/relaxation techniques
Facilitates a variety of activities to promote developmental growth
Promotes emotional support, education, and guidance to families at end of life to help children understand the dying process and cope with loss
Participates in interdisciplinary rounds, and collaborates with nursing, physicians, social work, etc.
Coordinates or facilitates special events and special visitors to support normal traditions and enhance a sense of control and wellbeing in pediatric patients
Orients, trains, supervise, and evaluates child life practicum students and pediatric volunteers
Documents assessments, interventions and outcomes
Provides in-service training to assigned unit about child life, child development, and/or coping strategies
Participates in community or hospital programs to promote child life and emotional safety of pediatric patients
Provides coverage for other child life staff as needed

Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree (B.A. or B.S.) from four-year College or University required, preferably in one of the following fields of study: Psychology, Human Development and Family Studies, child life studies
600-hour clinical child life internship under the supervision of a certified child life specialist required
Must be eligible for Child Life Specialist Certification and must obtain Child Life Specialist Certification within one (1) year of hire
Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification required
Excellent communication, interpersonal, and listening skills
ability to explain complex medical/treatment information in an age-appropriate manner
Strong organization, planning, and problem-solving skills
ability to manage multiple patients or tasks simultaneously
Emotional resilience and ability to handle the stress of working with children and families in crisis, illness, and death
Ability to adapt interventions to developmental level, family systems, and cultural considerations
Creativity and resourcefulness in designing play, educational materials, and coping interventions
Competence with documentation, use of hospital information systems, and ability to evaluate outcomes
Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists
Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form

Additional Information:

Job Posted:
January 29, 2026

Employment Type:

Parttime

Work Type:

On-site work

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