St. Louis Children’s Hospital

Child Life students come to St. Louis Children’s Hospital to complete their Bachelor or Master’s degree requirements through an internship. The fifteen week internship experience gives the student an opportunity to practice child life theories, and provides exposure to the special needs of hospitalized children in a variety of both in-patient and out-patient settings. The student will complete three rotations, which begins after two weeks of initial orientation.

The internship program is designed to compliment academic studies. The purpose is to provide a clinical program for students to develop a professional identity in working with children, families and staff within a pediatric setting. Through clinical experiences students will seek, identify and develop professional responsibility, philosophies and ethics relating to Child Life. As a result of this training, students will have the opportunity to acquire entry level skills needed to develop programs in pediatric settings or to enhance those already established.

• Students must have 100 hours of experience working with infants, children, youth and/or families in a health care setting and/or a programs designed for special needs populations (ex. child life practicum, volunteering, special needs camps and/or support groups). A practicum in child life and/or extensive volunteering experience under a child life specialist is highly preferred.
• Students must have experience with well infants, children, youth and/or families (ex. child care facilities, school programs and/or being a nanny).
• Students affiliated with a university must be of senior standing, or have completed the educational requirements that meet the Child Life Council's educational standards. Students no longer affiliated with a university will be required to provide his/her own liability insurance during the internship.
• Students affiliated with a university must have support throughout the internship, with an advisor making a site visit or communicating with the student and the Child Life internship educator.
• Students must be able to display strong knowledge and understanding of child life philosophy as well as child and family development.

To apply for an internship in our department, we ask that you send the following information to be received by the application deadline stated in this packet. We request that all of this information be sent at one time, however letters of reference can be sent separately if necessary. If you have any questions about what date will close your opportunity to apply for a specific internship period, please call us--we will not be able to accept late applications.

The following information is required and will make up your internship application:

• A cover letter stating your interest in applying for an internship citing the specific semester you are interested in
• A resume
• A copy of your university transcript, official or student issued (Web based transcripts are not accepted)
• At least two references; one from a university instructor or advisor and one from a field experience (practicum or volunteer) supervisor in a child life setting
• A one page description of goals you would like to achieve during your internship experience
• A 1 ½ to 2 page paper answering the following questions:
• "What skills or qualities do you possess that will help you during your internship?"
• "What are your specific reasons for pursuing an internship at St. Louis Children's Hospital?"

Students interested in applying for an internship must mail the completed application requirements to the address below, to be received no later than the application deadline for the appropriate semester. The Child Life Services staff will review all applications, and a staff member will contact students for the first round phone interviews. If additional information is needed at any time during the application process, please feel free to contact the Child Life Services department.

St. Louis Children’s Hospital
Child Life Services Department
Attn: Internship Committee
One Children’s Place, 8W24
St. Louis, Missouri 63110
314.454.6178

The application dates are in agreement with the Child Life Council guidelines as set by the Education Committee. (For more information, see the Official Documents of the Child Life Council revised 2002.) Should a deadline fall on a weekend or holiday, then the deadline will be moved forward to the next business day. All internship dates are subject to change by a week or more due to holidays, intern schedules, or staff schedules.

In order to be eligible for the CLC Certification exam, candidates must have completed 480 hours of their clinical training experience and all internship assignments before the application deadlines of March 31st and August 31st.

Our internship is a 40-hour per week, 15-week internship. After completion you will have a total of 600 hours, which exceeds the minimum 480 hours required to apply and sit for the Child Life Certification exam. We currently offer internships for the Winter and Summer semesters only.

A student in our internship program can expect two weeks of hospital and departmental orientation, followed by three rotations of 4-5 weeks in a variety of areas within the hospital. Our child life staff provides services in all inpatient units, including cardio- thoracic surgery and transplants, general medicine, surgical services and burn center, hematology/oncology, neurology, and rehabilitation. Services are also provided in several outpatient clinics, including same day surgery, dialysis and the Emergency Unit.

In addition to direct clinical work, interns also get opportunities to work with special events (activities and performers from outside the hospital for the patients), closed-circuit television programming, and numerous volunteers. We also include time toward the end of the internship to allow students to visit other child life and children’s programs in our area, to shadow staff they may not have gotten to complete rotation with, and to attend procedures and/or surgeries.

Daily journals, charting, two site visits, two case studies, weekly activity plans and developmental assessments, and a project are all required. Each rotation is subject to other possible assignments as well. All assignments must be completed prior to receiving the internship verification form required to apply for the certification exam.

There is no cost to you to work as an intern at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. While we cannot offer any compensation to our students, they do receive discounts in our cafeteria and free parking.

Will a certified Child Life Specialist supervise me?

Full-time certified Child Life Specialists do supervision of your internship. You will have a direct supervisor for each of the three rotations, as well as your Intern Educator that follows your progress throughout the entire internship. The Intern Educator will be available to assist in your training on charting and clinical skills, and will meet with each intern weekly to discuss progress on goals and projects.

Every effort is made to assist students in finding temporary housing for their internship period. At this point, our department has not identified any local college or university that can make dormitory living available to our students. Many students live with a family member or friend during their internship. A few students have arranged a short-term lease at an apartment complex that is close to the medical center; unfortunately, this can be a more expensive option.

All students currently enrolled in school who are seeking hours for credit will need to be under a contract between the College/University and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The hospital currently has contracts with several universities that are periodically revised and renewed. Once a student is selected as an intern, the manager of the Child Life department will ensure that a valid agreement is reached between the university and the hospital prior to the onset of the internship. The university has the option to provide liability insurance for students studying/working off campus. If the university does not cover students under the university liability insurance, or if the student will not have an affiliation with a college/university, professional liability insurance must be provided by the student. We have a resource that can provide liability insurance coverage for a year for a small cost if needed. Proof of insurance will need to be provided to the Child Life manager prior to beginning the internship.

The students selected to intern in our department will be registered with Volunteer Services to track the number of hours worked during the internship. Each student must complete the following before the scheduled start date: a volunteer application, references, health forms, and have a current TB screening (valid within a year of when the student expects to complete his/her internship at St. Louis Children’s Hospital). Please share this information with your university supervisor. If you have any questions about this issue, and feel free to contact the Child Life Services manager with any questions or concerns.

No, a school affiliation is not necessary at the time an internship is occurring. However, you will be required to provide your own liability insurance (since this is typically done through the student’s school).