Internship
Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego offers a child life internship twice a year: fall and spring. Please note that we will not be accepting interns for fall 2013. The program is designed to prepare an individual to sit for the child life certification exam and to pursue a career as a child life specialist.
This program will provide one intern per session opportunities for the following experiences: educating patients (and/or their siblings) about their illness or condition; preparing and supporting patients for procedures; planning and implementing therapeutic and recreational activities for patients in the playroom and at the bedside; supervising volunteers; attending patient rounds; and identifying the roles of various multidisciplinary team members.
The Child Life Internship is a 14-week, 40 hours a week, full-time program. The intern will be exposed to multiple units of the Hospital throughout their 560-hour experience. During this internship, the intern will have the opportunity to learn about the psychosocial needs of the different age groups and complete a series of modules on a variety of topics such as preparation, distraction, medical play, documentation, bereavement and family-centered care. Rady Children’s provides comprehensive care in all pediatric specialties and is also a Level I Trauma Center. Learn more about Rady Children's.
REQUIREMENTS
(ALL REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET PRIOR TO SUBMITTING APPLICATION)
EXPERIENCE: All applicants must have experience working with hospitalized children, plus:
Required: Completion of at least 150 hours of volunteer experience with hospitalized children under the supervision of a child life program
Highly recommended: Completion of a child life practicum (minimum 100 hours) under the supervision of a certified child life specialist
OR
Highly recommended: Completion of 6 months and a minimum of 250 hours of paid experience as a child life assistant under the supervision of a certified child life specialist
EDUCATION: The applicant must have completed at least a Bachelor’s level degree by the start date of the internship. Master’s degrees may be in progress or completed. Degree must be in one of the following subject areas:
Suggested majors:
- Child life
- Child development
- Human growth and development
- Child psychology
- Other related fields
Grades:
GPA of at least a 3.0 in major. Applicants with high academic achievement will have priority.
CHILD LIFE COURSES:
Required: Applicants must have completed a total of 10 college-level courses in child life or a related department/subjetc. Note: All applicants for the November 2013 and subsequnt exams will be required to successfully complete a minimum of one child life course taught by a Certified Child Life Specialist as part of this requirement. The child life course taught by a CCLS must be documented with a Child Life Verication Form.
APPLICATION MATERIALS: All of the following materials must be submitted. Only completed entries will be reviewed.
- Completed child life intern application
- Course work review from Child Life Council (http://www.childlife.org/Certification/Getting%20Certified/CourseWorkReview.cfm)
- Child Life Course Verification Form
- Copy of transcripts from all attended institutions (student copy acceptable)
- Two letters of recommendation, one from a professor (or other supervisor) and one from someone whom has observed your work with children.
- Your resume
- Proof of 150 hours of child life volunteer experience
- Proof of child life practicum is highly recommended
Application Deadlines
| Internship Session | Application Deadline | ||
| Fall | May 5th | ||
Spring | September 5th |
NOTICE: No Internship will be held Fall of 2013
Click here for the application (PDF).
Please mail the completed application to:
Attn: Child Life
Internship Coordinator
Mail Code 5126
3020 Children’s Way
San Diego, CA 92123
DUE TO VOLUME, THE CHILD LIFE DEPARTMENT CANNOT CONFIRM RECEIPT OF YOUR APPLICATION. APPLICANTS WHO DESIRE CONFIRMATION MUST COORDINATE THIS THROUGH THE POSTAL SERVICE OR FEDEX.
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Contact Us
- For more information, contact Kellie Tacl at 858-966-1700, ext. 4193.
