Child Life Specialists as the Translators of the Healthcare Experience

Presenter: Jeannine Brown, MS Ed., CCLS II, and Katrena Froh MA, CCLS, CEIM

Session: Child Life Specialists as the Translators of the Healthcare Experience 

Description: Child life specialists’ practice is driven by five core values including healthcare consumership, institutional savings, psychosocial outcomes, patient, and family engagement and observed impacts on development (childlife.org). Child Life specialists are skilled at educating multidisciplinary staff about how to speak to children in a non-threatening, developmentally appropriate, and emotionally safe way. Child life specialists prioritize the coping and developmental needs of children and families, and in this role, they may serve as the translators and navigators of the often confusing and complicated world of medicine. Ensuring children and families fully understand their healthcare experience leads to better outcomes, shorter hospital stays, and higher patient satisfaction scores. 

This presentation will provide attendees with the language and skills needed to ensure they are providing emotionally safe care for pediatric patients and their families. 

Learning Objectives:
1.    Recognize the scope of practice of child life specialists and the contributions they make to the healthcare experience for patients and their families.
2.    Identify misconceptions and knowledge gaps regarding pediatric patients’ understanding of the healthcare environment, and learn strategies to better communicate with pediatric patients and their families. 
3.    Recognize how developmental stages impact the way children and teens understand their healthcare experiences.
4.    Understand how to assess a child’s understanding of their medical treatment.
5.    Implement recommended language to reduce anxiety and create a culture that promotes long-term effective coping for future healthcare experiences.

Bios: 

Jeannine Brown received her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Grand Valley State University and is a Certified Child Life Specialist at Helen Devos Children's Hospital. Before finding a career in child life, Jeannine worked 25 years in the field of education as an early interventionist supporting young children, birth to 3 years old, and their families within the classroom and their homes. After experiencing a 3-year medical journey with her teenage daughter, Jeannine was inspired to support other families going through similar experiences. Jeannine completed her child life internship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and in 2018, Jeannine joined the Child and Family Life team at Helen DeVos. Jeannine supports patients and families experiencing a variety of medical needs ranging from acute illnesses to trauma and loss. Jeannine has a passion for supporting the whole family in challenging situations as well as providing education for our child life student interns, clinical nursing students, and newly hired nursing staff.

Katrena Froh has been a child life specialist for 10 years, primarily servicing the NICU and hematology-oncology population, with a recent focus on supporting our student interns. Katrena received her master’s degree in Family and Consumer Sciences from Western Michigan University and now is an adjunct faculty for WMU, Concordia University, and Ferris State University. Katrena is mother to five-year-old twin boys, who not only keep her busy but also whose own healthcare experience has inspired her commitment to emotional safety and focus on pain management. Katrena provides education to new nurses, residents, and multidisciplinary team members and has presented at multiple regional conferences and the Association of Child Life Professionals national conference.