Captivated By Child Life is excited to have another guest blog, this one is sure to provoke some conversation. For understandable reasons the guest writer has requested that their name be kept private, but will be available for questions or to engage in dialogue with those who may wish to do so. PLEASE remember that this is their opinion on this topic and as such some will disagree. Captivated By Child Life welcomes thoughtful discussion however, inappropriate or rude remarks will be removed for the sake of creating a purposeful environment for all.
The title says it all. You may not appreciate what is written within this post, but as a Child Life Specialist with 7+ years experience, I am willing to bet there are others out there with me whom will agree. My unpopular opinion is in regards to student run blogs/advice pages/social media engagement sites. Mostly just in regards to certain things that child life students will talk about or post about through their respective outlet. I'll start with this, overall I think it is wonderful that students today can engage in so many ways and connect with others around the world pursing this same passion. I also think it is great that students can share their perspective on the certification process as it happens to them, this creates a real sense of community. I wish I had more of that when I was going through the process.
The problem lies wherein students share advice or profess skill that they simply do not yet possess. I cringe a little inside every time I see a post or read a students posting where they share tips and advice about working with a certain patient population or providing information regarding preparations. I especially cringe when I can tell that what they are sharing doesn't align with Child Life principles or supported by developmental theory.
My unpopular opinion is this: Unless you have passed the clinical internship hours required to sit for certification, you don't have the skill to be sharing information about that which you can't do yourself in the professional setting.
I am so glad that students out there are passionate about this career and are bringing their new ideas into play. However, if you are a student and you haven't completed your training yet, you are severely under qualified to be informing others of how Child Life practice is done.
Please continue to share about your experiences in obtaining entry into educational programs, working through class assignments, volunteer work, and applications for practicums and internships. Absolutely share how exciting and fascinating the things you are learning are! And definitely give examples of your learning during practicums and internships. But please stop writing pieces as if you are a practicing Child Life Specialist.
Once you become certified and get a few years, or even months, under your belt I think you will realize how different the work and the idea of the work truly are. We as Child Life Specialists work extremely hard, as you know, to obtain our certification status and have it mean something to the other professionals within our workplaces. When any type
of student out there writes about the things we do, with no experience to back them up, it feeds into the idea that "Anyone can act as Child Life."
I want this profession to continue to encourage others, but one of the basic premises of work within the healthcare environment is to know your scope of practice. So before you write, think about if what you're sharing is really within yours.
Annonymous, MA, CCLS, CIMI
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