Paper

Today I have spent most of my day working on the paper that is due on Monday. I am writing my paper on what initially drew me to the child life profession, a brief overview of the child life profession and my overall experience. I am using literature articles to cite how important child life is and what roles it plays in the hospital system. 

Below is the 'surprise' I said would be here yesterday. It's a picture of me in my required uniform for the hospital!

DONE! DONE! DONE!

I am so excited to FINALLY be able to say I am DONE with entering all the reported internships (over 200). I am DONE with my 'resource book'! I am DONE DONE DONE. My book is 64 pages long. This includes the 11 pages of internships. I carefully resized each excel box to make it fit within a reasonable number of pages and then 'sorted' it through excel for alphabetical order by state. When I finished recording the internships this afternoon (around 4:00 pm) I had 36 pages, in size 6 font! I went back through and resized every box, made the font size 8 and got it to fit on 11 pages! I am so excited this book is completed. It is everything (and more) that I ever thought. I also added an about the author section per Dr. Bopp's suggestion. The picture below is the picture I included on the about the author page. Thank goodness I got my boyfriend to snap a picture of me at the Biltmore over Christmas break or future students wouldn't know what the author looks like! I can't wait to finally have this sucker bound and in the psychology department for good. 

I guess from all my excitement above you can guess that I have been working on finishing this book most of today / tonight. Now I've got to start this presentation, which will include a lot of information from my book. 

Check back tomorrow for a 'surprise' :) 

Bald Heads Are Prettier Than Heads With Hair

Today was a great day. I started off the day working on the list of internships. I have about 60 more to do now. It takes forever to get all the information I need for each internship site. I hope this whole book is a HUGE help to those who want to pursue a career in child life in the future. 

I also searched for articles to use in my final paper. At first it was hard to find articles on "child life", all my results kept producing articles that had "child" and "life" but not "child life". I went to the resource section of the child life website and found a page with a list of some published articles relating to child life. I took one of these and looked at where they got their articles to lead me to the articles I could use. I found about 12 I could use for my paper. Hopefully I will be able to get some information that will really help me explain child life and children under stress in the hospital. 

After completing all that I headed to the hospital. I had so much fun tonight, like always. When I first arrived, a child life specialist asked me to sit with a child in the hematology / oncology unit. I entertained and played with this 20 month old child for an hour and a half tonight. I never thought a 20 month old could make me laugh so much. She loved dora the explorer and would burst out in a laugh every time she changed the channel. We played in the playroom, in her room and went for a wagon ride around the unit. Although this patient is very sick, is missing all her hair (except her eyelashes), she is still a child that loves to have fun. I've had a pretty rough week and her laughter was just the 'medicine' I needed to bring my spirits back up. As much as I made her laugh, she made me smile and laugh too. I spent a lot of time in the hematology / oncology unit tonight. Every time I would leave she would blow me a kiss. Tonight is a perfect example of why I want to be a child life specialist. I want to bring joy to patients and make their hospital experience not as scary, and not so stressful. I want to see a smile on their parent's faces, knowing their child is happy for a moment. I did normal rounds in the epilepsy monitoring unit and half of the 5th floor (along with the hematology and oncology unit). I met lots of new patients tonight that were friendly and willing to play with me. This was so cool! 

My title reflects my time tonight in the oncology/ hematology unit. I met so many bald patients tonight and I was struck with how overwhelmingly beautiful they all are. These kids, with no hair, are cuter than normal kids with hair. 

Below are a few more pictures I've collected to illustrate child life!

Spreadsheets All Day Long

Today I worked on my list of internships from 2:00-8:00 pm. I honestly started seeing things because of how long I was looking at my computer screen. So far my 'document' of internships is 8 pages long, in size 6 font! I'll have to make it bigger before I print it, but its easier to manage in smaller fonts. 

I was able to get all the way through the 'M' hospitals. I have about 100 more to record before I'm finished completely. I still have some work to do on my book and I need to start researching for my paper. I will definitely be clocking more hours than usual this week trying to get everything finished. 

I can't believe Interim is almost over! I can't wait to go back to the hospital tomorrow!

Halfway

Today I met with Dr. Bopp about my resource book that I have been creating this interim. After our meeting I felt a lot better about my book and now only have some minor details to complete. I am still working on my massive spreadsheet of internship sites. It is really frustrating that I can only open so many links in a span of a certain amount of time. I am someone who likes to open a bajillion links on my computer in different tabs, and then goes through them one by one. Going through all the internship listings is definitely making me practice some self control!

I also went to the hospital today and volunteered. Many of my patients from last week were not there today. This is a GREAT thing because this means that they were able to go home. However, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in the fact that I wouldn't be seeing them again (hopefully). Today was basically the same as the past few times I've gone. I was able to make it to both the PICU and hematology / oncology units today as well. I also ended up cleaning a ridiculous amount of toys. Its necessary to clean the toys so infections, bacteria and virus' don't spread from child to child. Toys and games are a huge part of child life, as child life reduces stresses of the hospital through play. Without clean toys, the child life specialists and myself can't reduce stress through play. I took sometime this evening to clean all the toys on the 6th floor, and both playrooms as well. Its hard to believe how much dirt I STILL find in a hospital!

Below are a few pictures I collected over the weekend illustrating child life. Enjoy!

Working, Working, Working, Keep on Working...

Today I have been working extensively on my resource book. I have gone through all my information and formatted everything to be the same font, and have coherent font sizes throughout. I also moved all my information around into sections that flow the best. My book so far is 46 pages and I predict it will grow to be at least 50 pages. I need to add in some emails I have received from the child life council, as well as my spreadsheet of internship locations (which I am still working on. I am only on the hospitals that begin with "d"). I also have to scan in the 'common internship' application. I'll have to do this once my book is complete and I have left room for it. I will be meeting with Dr. Bopp sometime next week to discuss my book and get feedback. I can't wait to see what I've done well and what needs improving! 

Is THIS What It Feels Like To Be An Author?

I bet you can guess what I did today. Yup, I worked on my resource book for the psychology department. I'm trying to price out how I will end up binding this book. I've researched uploading a PDF of the book to a website that will actually bind the book. I can't decide if I want something that formal yet. 

Today I worked on the list of internships again. I'm struggling with how to fit all the needed important information on a 1 page spreadsheet (width wise). It will definitely be several pages long (length wise). I'm not sure how to make this work without publishing minuscule font. 

I also want my book to look coherent. I'm toying around with different designs, which is also dependent on how I end up publishing this resource book. 

I also read through some emails I have received from the child life council. I get these as part of my membership I paid for to the child life website. The past couple of emails have indicated changes in policies for the child life council. These will be important for future applicants. For example, in 2016, all hospital internships will have to be accredited in a particular way. This year (2012) is one of the first years that an internship has been REQUIRED to sit for the exam. Child life is only becoming more competitive, and these emails will be helpful for future students wishing to pursue a career in child life. 

I headed home tonight and will work on my book tomorrow from home. I am waiting to hear back from Dr. Bopp about whether to cite certain information and if so, how to do it. Depending on what she says, I will probably be adapting my book for that. 

Another challenge I am encountering is finding pictures for my presentation. The pictures I have posted on my blog are about all I have. I have not been able to take pictures yet, as there are certain regulations that have to be followed in a hospital setting. If any of my readers have suggestions I would greatly appreciate them! 

Good Day

Today was a good day. I arrived at the hospital today excited and ready for any challenge that may come my way. Going to the hospital is something I really do look forward to every Monday and Wednesday. Below is the children's hospital's logo! It is everywhere around the children's hospital. My volunteer polo just has the regular hospital logo (below the children's hospital logo) on it.

On Monday's and Wednesday's there is another student from USC-Upstate at the hospital as well. Its nice to have another student to interact with and share experiences with while I'm at the hospital. We can use each other's creative ideas to come up with neat activities for the children. Today, instead of me going around to all the rooms on the 5th and 6th floors, we divided up the floors. Today, I had the 6th floor. I'm sure glad we split up the rooms because both of us were SO busy tonight. I had several children who were interested in painting. I LOVE to paint and it was neat using my creativity to find objects or pictures for them to paint. I also had the opportunity to sit with a child while their parent went to go get dinner from the food court. This patient was very sick and was unable to speak or move on without help. It was nice to be able to give the parent a few moments to grab dinner and get out of the hospital room. This patient was there on Monday as well, so I know the parent must be getting tired of the hospital. I also headed down to the 5th floor to help the other student. I was able to spend time with a teenager making a necklace. We also used fuse beads to create a wax animal. I have included a picture of what fuse beads look like, and what you can create with them. 

The patient's mother and herself commented on how much child life had impacted her life during her time at the hospital. She was so excited to hear that I wanted to be a child life specialist. I was also able to visit the PICU tonight to take a family some musical toys for their young child. They were so relieved to have something to distract their child from all the cords and tubes. We were so busy tonight that we didn't even make it to the oncology / hematology unit. My shift technically ends at 8:30 but I didn't leave the hospital until 9! All the families seemed to be more welcoming tonight. The patients were more talkative as well. It was neat getting to see patients I saw on Monday again. I can already tell that I'm forming relationships with the patients who have been there for several days. I hate that I have to wait until Monday to volunteer again.

Rainy Tuesday

I feel like the days I don't volunteer appear to be boring and uneventful for all of you all (my readers). I spend most of these days editing or gathering research for my "resource book". It is definitely more difficult than I expected. I am currently working on making a spreadsheet with all the reported internship sites, along with useful information that would help future students apply. I can only open a certain amount of links with descriptions about each internship site within a given period of time. This can be frustrating because if I open too many my account is locked. I have had to balance looking at internship information and editing my word document. This is really frustrating, because I would love to have all my information and then go back and edit / format everything all at once. I can't wait for my 'book' to be finished. I really hope it lives up to my expectations and that I can make it into what I have envisioned! I'm so excited about going back to the hospital tomorrow. I've downloaded a English - Spanish translator on my phone that even will speak the translated text for me. I hope I get a chance to use it! 

Another Great Day At The Hospital!

I woke up this morning ready to get to the hospital. While most interim classes on campus run from either 9-12 or 1-4, my interim 'class' doesn't begin until 4:30! I take the "me time" that most individuals have at night time, and use it during my daytime. I waited all day for 4:30 to arrive so that I could leave Wofford and head to the hospital.

 Below is a picture of Greenville Memorial Hospital!

Today at the hospital was so much fun. I noticed that there seemed to be not as many empty rooms as there were last week. Many times the children's hospital gradually becomes busier as temperatures decrease, as many colds and flu's are spread, causing lung and breathing problems. As a volunteer, I do not know why my patients are in the hospital, however I must provide activities to ensure they have a positive hospital experience.

Today, I encountered two families who spoke little English. I know some basic Spanish, but it definitely was not enough to communicate effectively. I plan on talking to some friends who are Spanish majors. I want to learn how to say basic sentences relating to child life so that I know how help other families who may not know English. I'm sure having a language barrier is a huge factor in that can contribute to a stressful experience in the hospital. I would love to become bilingual to eliminate this barrier throughout my career.

I was able to visit the epilepsy monitoring unit tonight and visit with a few of the children who were there. It was neat going into this part of the hospital, and visiting with these children and their families. Children who are in the EMU (epilepsy monitoring unit) are not allowed to play any video games and may not be allowed to watch T.V. There are cords hooked up to each child's head to monitor brain activity. Just like vitals are monitored for each patient in the hospital, brain waves are monitored in the EMU.

I had several young girls who wanted to make friendship bracelets tonight. I searched for their favorite color string and beads so they could make a friendship bracelet.

I enjoyed meeting new families and visiting with the patients. I can already tell that as I become more comfortable, I will be spending more and more time with patients and their families getting to know them. I am allowed to sit with patients and play games (which I have not done yet). My hope is that I will get to do this on Wednesday!

There are several challenges associated with working with children who have serious illnesses, life challenges and disabilities. First of all, knowing that these children are very sick, and that some are routinely in the hospital can emotionally affect an individual. Secondly, you never know what you are going to encounter when opening a hospital door. Normally you are just given the patient's name and age. There were several times tonight that I opened the door to a child who had a particular disability that caused physical disfiguration. It is important to remember that you can't act surprised when a child may not look the way you anticipated, and more importantly, to treat them as a real person, not based on how they look. It is also important to not talk to the children in a way that is belittling, or in a way that comes across as you feeling sorry for them. Just because a child may be 8 years old, does not mean that your voice has to be high pitched. It is important to talk to these children like they are real people, because they are. Luckily, I have experience working with children who have serious illnesses, life challenges and disabilities so I feel well prepared when encountering any of these challenges.

Tonight was a slow night at the hospital, so I don't have any crazy or fun stories to share. I haven't been able to take any pictures of the play room or the child life office yet, but I will try to before the end of Interim. I found a video on the child life website featuring Greenville Memorial University Hospital System and their child life department from 2009. I thought I would share that with you all!

Child Life at Greenville Hospital

Friday!

Today is FRIDAY, which means I get to go to the hospital again on MONDAY! YAY! I didn't do much today. I pretty much worked on getting more resources together for my 'book' and compiling them in one big word document. I am such a perfectionist and want this resource book to look perfect. I think I have most of the information I want to include from the child life website. There will still be a few things to add once I begin editing. Now I just need to add in a TON of information about the internship process and how to apply! I'll probably start that on Tuesday (or Monday during the day). Have a great weekend!

Not As Easy As Expected

As mentioned before, the hospital has different shifts that they allow volunteers to work. I am required to keep the same shifts I initially sign up for throughout the spring. Therefore, the shifts I signed up for are slightly odd times.  I also don't get to volunteer as much as I wanted during January, however in the long run I will get to volunteer more! I'm realizing that a longer volunteer experience will only allow me to gain more knowledge about child life. It makes me wish Interim was something I could do all semester. I really feel like I could continue this project and make it SO great over the course of 4 months. Because I don't get to volunteer as much as I wanted, I am focusing my 'off days' on the resource book I am making for the psychology department. I initially thought that the book would be SO easy and wouldn't require much time. Boy oh boy was I wrong! I spent several hours today pouring over research on the child life website trying to decide what was important for me to include in my book. There is literally so much information and it will take me LOTS of time to get all the information together, and then format the book to appeal to readers. I already wish I had this book earlier in my research efforts to help me figure out how to become certified in child life, and what child life was! My goal of the book is for it to have resources that will be able to be used for several years, and won't require much updating. This past summer I became a student member on the child life website (which requires you to pay a fee). I haven't even tapped into all the other resources that are available for members. I expect my book to be around 30-50 pages by the end of interim. I am literally writing 3-5 pages a day of information, single spaced! This book is not as easy as I expected it would be! 

Confirming Passion

I have always known that I am passionate about children, and passionate about helping children who struggle with disabilities, life challenges and serious illnesses. Today I reaffirmed those passions. 

During the summer of 2010 when I worked at camp, I discovered the child life profession. Many of my co-workers were studying to become child life specialists, and I grew more and more interested. I've always relied on my own research and what other people have told me, and from there decided that child life would be a perfect career for me. I've never experienced child life first hand, therefore there was some doubt in my mind that I could potentially hate the field. My shadowing experience today did just the opposite. 

It is hard to put into words how amazing today was, but I'll try. I arrived at the hospital around 1:45 today. I felt more confident arriving at the hospital today. I checked into the volunteer office, where I ran into the other volunteer I met yesterday. We walked to the child life department on the 6th floor of the hospital together. I was able to meet some new child life specialists that work at the hospital today. I even met the supervisor of the department! The other volunteer (we'll call her Alice) and I took a set of keys and went to the playrooms on the 5th and 6th floor to explore the cabinets. It is important for us to know where all the crafts, games, toys, etc. are located. Next, we met up with another child life volunteer, who has been volunteering for several months (we'll call her Peggy). Peggy was assigned to be mine and Alice's mentor for the day. We took a clipboard with all the room assignments and then made our rounds. Child life specialists have so many different jobs in the hospital. They rely on their volunteers to check on the patients every couple of hours and provide the play therapy, while they focus more on the psychological therapy (and other therapies). Peggy showed us when and how to enter rooms and introduce ourselves to the patient and their family. We also learned what notes we were supposed to write on the clipboard about each patient. We made rounds on the 6th floor (which typically holds the older patients, but not always) and the 5th floor (which typically holds the younger patients, but not always). We then were able to make rounds in the oncology and hematology unit. I was able to spend 30-45 minutes with a toddler. I played with her and had "cuddle time". Often times volunteers will hold or rock young children to give their parents a break. Around 5:30 my shift was over and I signed out of the volunteer office and headed back to Wofford.

On my way back to Wofford (which took about an hour with traffic!), I reflected on my experience today. I realized that today only reaffirmed my passions and confirmed that I should be a child life specialist some day. I absolutely LOVE the hospital environment. I haven't been in the hospital environment since high school, and today reminded me of how much I love walking the halls and seeing patients. I found so much personal joy when I was able to bring a smile or make a child laugh today. I interacted with a young boy by providing him with a video game. His face lit up and he continued to play the video game for over an hour. It made me so happy to know that for at least an hour of his hospital experience, I was able to take his mind off of whatever illness or ailment brought him there. 

I learned so much today, and I am jumping out of my seat to go back. I'll have several days before I start actually volunteering that I will use to work on my resource book. I'm thinking about including the volunteer process in the book as well. I know other students interested in child life would love to learn how to become a volunteer with the child life department as well! This interim is definitely going to be more than just an 'interim project'. It is going to be something I talk about forever (just like camp)!

Orientation Bliss

Today was such an exciting day! I reported to the hospital in dressy clothes ready to make a good first impression. I quickly found my way to the children's floor and then to the child life office. I was greeted by another volunteer, a child life assistant and another child life specialist. After giving me a child life volunteer orientation packet, the child life assistant took the other volunteer and me on a tour of the hospital. We learned what different codes on the doors meant, and how we as volunteers are to respond to those codes. We were shown where the gowns and masks were for when we have to 'gown up' to go into a room. The child life assistant also showed us how to clean toys, and where to place dirty toys. We learned about the equipment in each room. Every child's room is equipped with a PlayStation, DVD player and TV. Other handheld devices like a Nintendo DS and laptops are available if the child wants those as well. We visited the special area of the children's unit especially designed for epileptic children. We have full access to those rooms, just as long as we don't stand at the foot of the bed. I learned that in these rooms, at the foot of the bed, there is a camera that monitors each patient. I also got to visit the oncology and hematology units where I will also have full access. I honestly learned so much about different playrooms and different utility rooms that it is so hard to remember everything! I also found out that the $25 polo I purchased yesterday (which volunteer services said I had to wear) wasn't needed in the child life department. Today I also learned that I will be doing a lot of what a child life specialist does, just minus different counseling techniques. I am so excited to be volunteering through April with this department, and I can't wait to learn so much over interim as well. Tomorrow I will experience my first shadowing opportunity. I will learn exactly what my duties and responsibilities of a volunteer in the child life department entail. I am so excited to meet more of the child life staff, as well as learn the basis for what is to come during my volunteer experience. 

Walking around the hospital today reminded me a lot of camp. I worked at a camp for children with life challenges, disabilities and serious illnesses during the summer of 2010. It was at camp that I learned about child life, and decided that I wanted to become a child life specialist. I worked with children with all different types of illnesses and challenges while I was at camp. I played a role in making the children have a normal camp experience, despite their disability, life challenge or serious illness. As I was walking the halls of the hospital today, I realized that I would be in my 'element' this whole month. I will get to interact with children from diverse backgrounds with all sorts of different illnesses and life challenges. Furthermore, I will be able to brighten these kids days by just spending some time with them and performing different therapies. 

Speaking of camp, we sang a song every day at camp called "Love Is". That song inspired my blog title. I've included the lyrics below, and you can listen to through the embedded youtube player as well online. As you listen and read the lyrics, keep in mind that we sang this song with kids who had diabetes, downs syndrome and even cancer. This song can be applied to any life challenge, disability or serious illness that a child may be experiencing. The song shows how strong love really is. I can't think of a more perfect blog name. With love for the children I will be working with over the next few months, I can bring a smile to their face, or give them hope they may not have. I can do so much with these children by just showing a little bit of love. Enjoy!

Good Start Monday

Over the weekend I heard from the lady in child life. She told me that to volunteer with the department there was a four month requirement. I was frustrated because when I contacted child life back in September, they never mentioned a fourth month commitment. Similarly, the lady in volunteer services never mentioned a four month commitment either. I began thinking about it and decided that a four month commitment could be a good thing. I am wanting to become a child life specialist and must serve a 600 hour unpaid internship before I sit for the exam. I have already submitted my applications for the 600 hour internship (which has to be served after graduation). However, if I don't get an internship at one of the eleven hospitals I've applied to, at least I will have volunteer experience under my belt for my applications due in the fall. I also found out that there is a required shadowing day to volunteer with child life. I was so excited to hear that this was a requirement because I was looking for a shadowing opportunity during my volunteer experience. 

Today I went to Greenville and got my volunteer badge made. My volunteer badge allows me to park in gated parking and be identified throughout the hospital. After I got my volunteer badge made, I ventured down to the uniform shop in the bottom of the hospital. I felt like I was behind the scenes of an extraordinary operation. It made me stop and realize how big the hospital really is, and how many professionals are needed to keep it running. I had to wait about 20 minutes for the uniform lady to return from lunch. After some time, I was able to purchase my coral colored polo shirt embroidered with the hospital logo and volunteer services. After my three hour adventure at the hospital picking up my uniform and volunteer badge, I headed back to Spartanburg.

Before I headed to the hospital I was also able to speak with someone from child life about what hours I will be able to volunteer. She explained that there were certain shifts. She also mentioned that I would have to complete an orientation through child life. I will complete my orientation tomorrow at 10:00 am. At that time I will set up my volunteer shifts. There is a morning shift, afternoon shift, and night shift. I am going to try and plan my shifts to work around my spring schedule, so I can continue to volunteer after interim. I am excited about all the progress that was made today with my interim experience and I am so thrilled to learn all about child life during my orientation tomorrow!

Friday Luck

Today has been a great day! I was pretty bummed yesterday after finding out my background check had not been submitted to verify my volunteer experience. Today I received an email from the lady in charge of volunteer services letting me know that my volunteer application was officially accepted! I was more than thrilled! She also copied me on an email to the child life department where she recommended me as a volunteer. I now have to await their email letting me know when the best hours and days for me to volunteer are. I was so excited to have this "bump" in the road fixed so soon! On Monday I will travel to Greenville Hospital to have my volunteer badge made, as well as getting my official greenville hospital volunteer polo. I'm so excited to finally get my uniform as well as my official badge. Today I worked on my resources for the book that will be in the psychology department after interim. I specifically got information together about the child life process and how to become certified. Today was an awesome day for my interim experience. I am so thrilled about the progress that has happened within 24 hours. I can't wait to update all my readers on my experience Monday!

The beginning of it all

Today was the first official day of the 2012 interim. My plan for interim is to volunteer directly with the child life department at Greenville Memorial Hospital University Medical Center. Child life specialist’s posses the tools required to help individuals with serious illnesses; life challenges and disabilities overcome challenges and difficult situations in their lives. I believe that child life specialists are individuals who not only support children during challenging life events, but also the families of those children. In addition, child life specialists provide information and guidance during the difficult times and not so difficult times to children and their families. I believe it is also the child life specialist’s responsibility to educate the hospital staff, doctors and nurses on stress and its impact not only children, but also the family as a whole. Child life specialists use their knowledge of child development to create coping strategies that will benefit each specific child. It is also the child life specialist’s responsibility to put the child’s needs first and foremost. Serving as a child life specialist is not just a profession, but also a way of life. I believe that an effective child life specialist must be passionate about working with people, especially children, as well as working with individuals who face different and unique life challenges. Child life specialists not only provide many therapies and education, they also provide support and encouragement for children and their families. Child life specialists also serve as advocates for their patient’s wellbeing. Child life specialists work with many different professions to educate individuals about the stress and difficulties a child and his or her family experience during a hospital experience. 

Although I started my volunteer application with the hospital during September, it is still not complete. Unfortunately, the hospital misplaced my background check. After several emails and phone calls throughout the month of December they were just returned this week. My background check is supposed to go out again tomorrow, and from there the volunteer office will contact the child life department to see what hours will be best for me to volunteer. I was somewhat frustrated because I was organized and prepared from the beginning, however I am learning you can not always rely on other people. While the volunteer process is being completed, I will focus my efforts on putting together my book of resources for future students interested in child life. I'm looking forward to sharing my entire interim experience with all my readers. I know once I am volunteering I will learn so much about child life and all the effective techniques used in the child life profession.