Job Description

The Child Life Specialist (CLS) in the ICU will serve as an integral member of an inter professional team, dedicated to improving the psychosocial well-being of children and youth whose parent or caregiver has been hospitalized with a life altering or life limiting diagnosis. The CLS will work closely with the team and leverage their expertise to provide developmentally appropriate education and support to children and families impacted by traumatic injury/illness or death of their parent or loved one.Given that this is a non-pediatric site, the skill and expertise of the CLS will be invaluable in supporting the full scope of the family circle for our patients suffering from sudden and life altering conditions. Specific responsibilities will include: meeting with adult patients to understand the needs of their family, meeting with children and youth to help them understand the diagnosis and projected care trajectory, working closely with team members as a trusted and supportive consultant, and challenging the team to improve clinical efficiencies through evidence-based practices.Research has demonstrated that children and youth impacted by serious medical events are at a higher risk of MH issues in the future. Having a trained clinician who can support the patient, partner and the children will help the family unit as well as reduce emotional and behavioural impacts.The additional focus of this position will be to support End of Life Care in the ICU through the implementation of the 3 Wishes Project. This is a world renowned approach to end of life care focused on humanizing the dying experience for patients and families, to create positive memories of the loved ones they leave behind.Qualifications1. Child Life Certification
2. Minimum 2 years of experience, within the last 3 years, as a Certified Child Life specialist in an acute, tertiary care setting.
3. Knowledge, skills and abilities required to work with infants, children, adolescents and their families related to acute care and end of life.
4. Ability to work in a fast-paced, changing environment
5. Excellent communication, interpersonal, organizational, and problem solving skills \xe2\x80\x93 liaising with staff, volunteers, patients and families
6. Program development, monitoring and teaching skills \xe2\x80\x93 expansion of program to new units, ongoing education and support to members of the interdisciplinary team
7. Ability to function both independently and integrate with unit and program teams.
8. Ability to coordinate multi functions and meet deadlines. Ability to balance demands of clinical caseload and project deadlines. Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage competing priorities.
9. Demonstrated computer skills \xe2\x80\x93 proficiency in EPIC system, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Word, Excel, internet and intranet,As a condition of employment, you are required to submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to Employee Health Services.

Hamilton Health Sciences