Child Life Counsellor

KEY FUNCTION: 

Assess patient needs and develop individualized treatment plans in collaboration with interdisciplinary team members across the organization. Utilize specialized skills and knowledge to work with children and adolescents experiencing mental health, emotional and behavioural issues. Prevent and reduce the impact of medical trauma, preparing children for procedures to improve medical outcomes and decrease the duration of inpatient stay.

REPORTING: 

Under the general direction of the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Manager, NICU and Pediatrics.

DUTIES:

1. Develop therapeutic relationships with children and their caregivers/support persons.
2. Provide a safe and structured environment to support patients (i.e. managing acute illness, procedural anxiety, pain management, grief, and/or long-term prognoses); refer caregivers to additional resources as required.
3. Help paediatric patients express strong emotions in constructive, developmentally appropriate ways, and develop tools and strategies to manage psychosocial side effects of chronic conditions.
4. Share relevant knowledge and provide meaningful feedback to colleagues, including new staff, Child and Youth Workers/Child Life Counsellors, Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs), Registered Nurse (RNs), Social Workers, post-secondary students, medical students, residents, and physicians.
5. Monitor patients who may be suffering from medication side effects and relay observations to the RPN, RN, and the Medical Doctor (MD).
6. Extract clinical information from patient/family interactions to pass on to the rest of the team.
7. Prepare children for upcoming procedures involving, but not limited to, the use of demonstration, pretend play, and learning stories.
8. Provide crisis intervention using least restraint philosophy as required.
9. Provide culturally sensitive materials and care to patients and caregivers/support persons.
10. Assist allied health team in the development of required programming, participate in interdisciplinary rounds, case conferences, planning sessions, and assist in the education of staff and students to best meet the knowledge/care needs of the patients.
11. Establish stimulating activities to enhance the individualized and emerging developmental skills of patients through individual sessions, in collaboration with allied health.
12. Provide support to patients to develop new skills in the areas of self-esteem, anger management, coping, healthy lifestyles, community resources, and discharge planning.
13. Work closely with children to help them meet and maintain their individual developmental milestones in the areas of social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being.
14. Determine and align improvement projects with HSN’s Strategic Plan; monitor and adjust to achieve goal outcomes.
15. Evaluate patient care and satisfaction on an ongoing basis and formulate solutions for improvement.
16. Educate and promote health, safety and wellness in the work place.
17. Participate in education and training specific to current, relevant federal and provincial health and safety legislation, standards and guidelines.
18. Represent the department or program on various committees and in meetings as required. 
19. Perform other duties as required. 

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION AND TRAINING: 

1. Minimum of a three (3) year Diploma in Child and Youth Care, from an accredited college.
2. Current Certificate of Registration with the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counsellors (OACYC) or Le Regroupment francophone des techniciennes et techniciene en éducation specialisée de l’Ontario (RFTESO) is required.
3. Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) certification by the Association of Child Life Professionals is preferred.
4. Ministry of Labour “Worker Health and Safety Awareness in 4 Steps” training certificate is required.

EXPERIENCE: 

1. Minimum of one (1) year experience working in a Child and Youth department within a health care environment.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES: 

1. Demonstrated ability to counsel with empathy and respect for clients and members of the community.
2. Demonstrated training, experience or utilization of lean methodology for process improvement.
3. Demonstrated ability to independently identify child/youth care needs and supports.
4. Demonstrated ability to independently identify issues, plan improvements, measure success and continue improvement.
5. Demonstrated excellent computer skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office software, (e.g. Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook) and patient information systems.
6. Demonstrated superior interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.
7. Demonstrated ability to manage routine correspondence, multiple tasks/projects, diversified workload and rapidly changing priorities and challenging deadlines.
8. Demonstrated discretion and maturity when handling confidential information.
9. Demonstrated commitment to the safety of co-workers and patients.
10. Demonstrated commitment to cultural safety and awareness.

PERSONAL SUITABILITY: 

1. Successful vulnerable sector check is required.
2. Ability to use tact and discretion in dealing with health care providers and patients.
3. Demonstrated commitment to ongoing professional development.
4. Demonstrated professionalism in dealing with confidential and sensitive issues.
5. Demonstrated positive work record and good attendance record.
6. Ability to meet the physical and sensory demands of the job.
7. Ability to travel between local sites.

Selection Process:  Candidates will be selected for this position on the basis of their skill, ability, experience and qualifications as identified in the resume and completed Application Form submitted. The Hospital reserves the right to conduct a formal interview where required.
 

Health Sciences North is committed to providing accommodations to applicants with disabilities to enable their participation in the recruitment, assessment, selection and hiring stages of employment.

HSN THANKS ALL APPLICANTS.
ONLY THOSE SELECTED FOR INTERVIEWS WILL BE CONTACTED.
WE WILL NOT ACCEPT APPLICATIONS AFTER THE CLOSING DATE AND TIME.