Child Life in the Primary Care Setting (S5:E21)

It is no secret that medical visits of any kind can sometimes be scary for children and their families. Certified child life specialists are educated and clinically trained in the healthcare setting to help children and their families navigate and cope with the hardships of illness, hospitalization, diagnosis and trauma. Their work improves patient and family care, satisfaction and overall experience.

Listen to pediatric experts discuss how primary care providers can incorporate child life tools into daily practice.

In this episode, Jennifer Staab and Stephanie Barta discuss how primary care providers can incorporate child life tools into daily practice to support their patient families.

Both Jennifer and Stephanie work in our Child Life Department at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Jennifer is the department manager and Stephanie is a child life specialist.

In this episode, our experts discuss:

• The child life approach to care and what a child life specialist does
• A typical day as a child life specialist
• The use of play to help kids develop coping skills and master their experiences
• The importance of incorporating choice into your patients’ medical care experiences
• Simple strategies and tools for supporting a positive child life environment in your primary care setting

Child life programs and resources

As one of the largest and most innovative child life programs in the country, our Child Life Department is leading the way in improving the healthcare experience for kids through therapeutic play, connection, creativity, animal-assisted therapy, gaming and more.

Refer a patient to Children’s Colorado.