As future child life specialists, students graduating from our program will stand shoulder to shoulder with medical and psychosocial experts in both hospital and community settings, charged with the challenging and rewarding task of minimizing the long- and short-term impacts of trauma on children and families. Traditionally, child life specialists work in the medical environment helping children and families cope with the stress of hospitalization, illness, trauma, medical procedures, social and emotional changes, physical differences, grief, and bereavement. Opportunities to engage in child life practice outside of the hospital environment are also growing as child life specialists begin offering services in homeless shelters, school systems, funeral homes, refugee camps, advocacy centers, and any other place where a child may experience stress and trauma. Through a myriad of techniques including procedure preparation and support, diagnosis education, therapeutic play, normalization play, and more, child life specialists teach children and families the coping skills that they need to emerge from the most anxietyprovoking times of their lives.

As students in the program, learning is broken into two categories: academic and practical. In the classroom setting, students gain mastery of classic developmental theory and complete 33 credit hours of academic preparation. During their two clinical rotations, child life students first observe child life specialists in practice and then join these mentors in child life intervention before eventually taking full ownership of a full patient load in the hospital setting.

Our world is in a period of great flux, and as such new light is finally being shined on the issues of equity in inclusion, especially in regard to health care. The Association of Child Life Professionals published their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Position Statement in 2021, which are the guiding principles of both myself and also the child life graduate program as a whole. Children in the hospital naturally gravitate towards specialists who are familiar to them, and we have a responsibility to children and families to provide specialists in the field who understand their perspectives, histories, and lives. Historically, child life specialists have been young, white, middle-class women almost without exception. Now, the vision statement for our field reads, “[Our vision is] To build a culturally effective, inclusive, and equitable profession that aligns with and supports our patients, workforce, and the communities that we serve.”

Not only is it of utmost importance to the children and families we serve to increase the diversity of the field, but also to our budding specialists as well. Bureaucratic red-tape and barriers to entry in our field have long existed in our field, but the increasing competitiveness of the job market of the last decade has intensified an already dire situation. As such, removing barriers like the requirement to travel all over the country for hour-long interviews at dozens of hospitals is no longer the norm. Additionally, more scholarships and fellowships are being added to the roster each day. These exciting improvements are a beautiful beginning, but we have a long way to go in our field. It is my desire and commitment to do all that is within my means to continue this work. As a life-long learner, I will certainly make mistakes, and I would like to encourage and invite any student to educate me on ways I can improve in this (or any) arena.

The graduate program is primarily designed for students who would like to work in the hospital setting as a child life specialist. Opportunities to alter your course curriculum based on other specialty areas that you would like to pursue is possible and highly encouraged. My goal for each student is to help them identify and develop the skills necessary for their specific career objectives. Students pursing their masters may also intend to pursue a university teaching career or own their own private practice, for example. Students will identify goals with me early and often, and formal/scheduled meetings (each semester) as well as informal chats (usually weekly) will help me to support you on your way.

Students who will thrive and succeed in the child life program possess the following attributes.

1. Able to identify the lens they view the world through and alter their interactions with those around thembased on this knowledge. For example, if you have unprocessed trauma of your own, realizing it in the midst of a code in the trauma bay is not helpful for anyone.


2. Able and willing to advocate for children and families with other medical professionals. This may be awkward, but it is a core tenant of our field. Examples include advocating for non-pharmocological pain management, comfort positioning, parental presence or changes to sedation plans in procedures.


3. Able to apply theory to real-world scenarios quickly and assess development, psychosocial environment, and coping within seconds of first meeting a patient.


4. Able and willing to find common ground and build quick rapport with any patient, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, sex, gender, physical or mental abilities, nationality, age, or religion.


5. Able to balance their own emotional responses with the needs of others and find appropriate and helpful outlets for their stress outside of work.

The above qualities apply to specialists as they enter the field, but seeing the first buds of these in applicants is a goal of the admission committee for child life.

1. I will provide timely feedback and communication. Emails are typically replied to within 24 hours. Students may also contact Amanda via text or phone during work hours. This is my preferred method of communication. Within office hours or class, you are my first priority.


2. I will pull every single possible string that I have access to in order to open doors for you. I am extremely proud of my students’ success; we have seen 100% internship placement for the life of our graduate program on the first application season, which is significantly higher than the norm for placements universally in child life.


3. I will help students navigate the overwhelming processes of internship and practicum placement and continue advocating for and building new clinical placements for students.


4. I will work hard to continue to build the reputation of our department through active memberships in the Association of Child Life Professionals and the Southeastern Association of Child Life Professionals.


5. I will CELEBRATE every success with you. I believe that beginning a relationship with you as a graduate student is a career-long commitment, and I will continue to advocate and cheer for you long after you graduate.