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Child life specialist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D.,
Kacie Blalock Ph.D.
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical child life specialist skills. We ranked the top skills for child life specialists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 25.2% of child life specialist resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a child life specialist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 child life specialist skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how child life specialists use patients:
  • Utilized developmentally appropriate language to educate patients and families about diagnoses and procedures in the infectious disease and general pediatrics unit.
  • Facilitated broad range of supportive interventions with families and patients facing a life-threatening, life-limiting or life-ending illness or injury.

2. Child Development

Here's how child life specialists use child development:
  • Provide education to colleagues on child development issues and age-appropriate interactions.
  • Required extensive knowledge of child development related to medical procedures.

3. Patient Care

Patient care entails the diagnosis, recovery, and control of sickness as well as the maintenance of physical and emotional well-being through the use of healthcare providers' services. Patient care is described as services provided to patients by health practitioners or non-professionals under guidance.

Here's how child life specialists use patient care:
  • Delivered direct patient care to children and families in acute pediatric and hematology/oncology inpatient settings.
  • Collaborated with multidisciplinary team members to provide efficient patient care.

4. Child Life Services

Child Life Services concentrates on the strengths and sense of well-being of children while supporting their optimal growth and reducing the opposing effects of children's experiences in health care or other possibly stressful settings. Using play and psychological preparation as basic tools, child life interventions facilitate coping and adaptation at times and under conditions that might prove devastating otherwise.

Here's how child life specialists use child life services:
  • Provided family-centered child life services to hospitalized children, birth through adolescence in the Emergency Department.
  • Provided Child Life services to patient and families in Emergency Department, Hematology and Oncology units and same day surgery unit.

5. Social Work

Here's how child life specialists use social work:
  • Collaborated effectively with interdisciplinary team members such as Social Work, Chaplaincy, Case Managers, Clinical Advisors and ICU managers.
  • Maintained daily activity logs and up-to-date confidential information for parents and social workers.

6. CCLS

Here's how child life specialists use ccls:
  • Collaborated with outpatient hematology/oncology CCLS to provide comprehensive care.

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7. Therapeutic Play

Here's how child life specialists use therapeutic play:
  • Manage materials used for therapeutic play and utilize volunteer services for bedside play and normalizing stimulation.
  • Provided therapeutic play, modeled appropriate behavior and fostered healthy relationships.

8. Emotional Support

At its core, emotional support involves providing support, reassurance, acceptance, love, and encouragement. It is especially important in a time of stress/sadness as it stabilizes an individual and provides a positive foundation for trust. Honing this skill is important for individuals who want to pursue the career of caregivers and emotional support nurses. Their job includes monitoring mental health and helping patients to handle any mental challenge.

Here's how child life specialists use emotional support:
  • Provided emotional support, recreation and diversion to create a more pleasant experience
  • Practiced Family Center Care and provided emotional support to children and families.

9. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how child life specialists use cpr:
  • License: Current CPR, First Aid Certification and Food Handler's Card.
  • Instructed U.S., coalition, Iraqi forces in CPR, combat first-aid, EMT, and Combat Medic Advanced Skills.

10. Therapeutic Interventions

Here's how child life specialists use therapeutic interventions:
  • Provided developmental and therapeutic interventions including medical play and psychological preparation in both group and individual settings.
  • Provide therapeutic interventions to help children and families cope with hospitalization.

11. Medical Procedures

Here's how child life specialists use medical procedures:
  • Encouraged understanding and cooperation by providing non-medical preparation and support for children undergoing tests, surgeries, and other medical procedures.
  • Educated staff and families on developmentally appropriate interventions for supporting children through various medical procedures

12. Surgery

Here's how child life specialists use surgery:
  • Provided diagnostic education and procedural teaching to children in the Surgery Center, Emergency Department, and General Pediatric Unit.
  • Developed and starred in a surgery preparation video for children.

13. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how child life specialists use mental health:
  • Mentored children diagnosed with developmental disabilities, mental health and behavioral challenges.
  • Worked with students and their families to develop healthy coping skills in conjuncture with their individual mental health needs.

14. Medical Play

Here's how child life specialists use medical play:
  • Conducted developmentally appropriate medical play that addressed coping with hospitalization, illness and end of life.
  • Offer medical procedural support, medical preparation and education, medical play, therapeutic activities, and sibling support.

15. Hospital Environment

Here's how child life specialists use hospital environment:
  • Facilitate patient's adaptation to hospital environment and increased effective ways of coping with the stress of hospitalization.
  • Created daily age appropriate playroom activities for normalization of the hospital environment.
top-skills

What skills help Child Life Specialists find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What type of skills will young child life specialists need?

Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D.Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Indeed, the way we work is changing. The skills that young graduates will need are diverse. Transferable skills and soft skills will certainly be marketable. These include traditional crafts such as communication, but I also think the world expects more empathy from its employees. Young graduates with an understanding of racism, sexism, and environmental responsibility will become increasingly important.

What hard/technical skills are most important for child life specialists?

Kacie Blalock Ph.D.

Associate Professor; Director, Master of Counseling, Louisiana State University at Shreveport

It is important that counselors are able to effectively take notes and summarize progress, interpret assessments, memorize and recall information, and keep clear yet concise records.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about child life specialist

List of child life specialist skills to add to your resume

Child life specialist skills

The most important skills for a child life specialist resume and required skills for a child life specialist to have include:

  • Patients
  • Child Development
  • Patient Care
  • Child Life Services
  • Social Work
  • CCLS
  • Therapeutic Play
  • Emotional Support
  • CPR
  • Therapeutic Interventions
  • Medical Procedures
  • Surgery
  • Mental Health
  • Medical Play
  • Hospital Environment
  • Child Life Program
  • Compassion
  • Procedural Support
  • Adaptive
  • Community Resources
  • Rehabilitation
  • Medical Care
  • Support Services
  • Pain Management
  • Kids
  • Hospital Stay
  • Autism
  • Direct Care
  • Procedural Preparation
  • Picu
  • Epic
  • Radiology
  • Foster Care
  • Bereavement Support
  • Hematology
  • Oncology
  • Psychosocial Support
  • Pediatric Emergency
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Mental Illness
  • Social Care
  • Meal Preparation
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Early Intervention
  • Medical Appointments

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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