Goals and Objectives of the Child Life Intern Program

Le Bonheur’s on-site supervisor, a Certified Child Life Specialist, will provide the following:

A. Our Goals

• Plan and outline all student requirements and activities.
• Orient the student to the agency, including its policies, programs, departments, and procedures.
• Share knowledge and experiences with the student that will help him/her to grow professionally.
• Assign responsibilities to the student that are consistent with the child life program.
• Provide opportunities for new experiences in the academic and professional field.
• Complete the university’s requirements for student fulfillment of the Intern obligations.

B. Our Objectives

• To provide students the opportunity to relate and apply classroom theories and techniques to real life situations.
• To develop a cooperative relationship between Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and various area universities.
• To assist in the training of professionals in child life.

Goals of Your Internship

• To become more familiar with the Child Life profession.
• To develop a better working knowledge of child and adolescent growth and development.
• To gain experience in providing appropriate play activities for children and adolescents in a health care setting.
• To assess the child’s age and stage of development and ability to perform planned activity.
• To gain understanding of the effects of stress and trauma on child, adolescent and family behavior and development.
• To better understand the special needs of chronically ill children and adolescents and their families.
• To have opportunities to prepare children for hospitalization, surgery and other medical procedures.
• To increase knowledge of medical procedures and terminology and the roles of other medical professionals.
• To gain experience in relating the psychosocial needs of children and families to other professionals through individual contact and multidisciplinary meetings.
• To understand the value of emotional expression through medical play, art, games, dramatic, music, dance, creative writing, and television production.