Child Life Clinical Internship Curriculum - Child Life Council

Module 5
Assessment: Developing a Plan of Care
Clinical Learning Goals
The intern will:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of the factors relevant to assessing a child’s and family’s
ability to cope with hospitalization, illness, or treatment, and the child’s risk of
negative psychological outcomes related to the experience.
2. Demonstrate the ability to gather relevant data in order to assess the coping style and
needs of the child/family using a variety of strategies such as play, observation,
interview/collaboration, professional discourse, reading chart materials etc.
3. Demonstrate critical thinking in the process of gathering and articulating assessment
data.
4. Demonstrate the ability to convert assessment data into a needs statement and plan
of care.
Related Child Life Competencies
I. Care of Infants, Children, Youth and Families
A. The ability to assess and meaningfully interact with infants, children, youth and
families.
Use developmentally‐appropriate play as a primary tool in assessing and
meeting psychosocial needs.
Apply formal and informal assessment techniques to determine developmental
level and emotional state.
Apply the cyclical process of assessment, plan, intervention, and evaluation of
child life care.
E. The ability to continuously engage in self‐reflective professional child life practice.
Recognize and describe how personal challenges and learning needs in
knowledge and practice skills may impact service delivery.
Articulate the impact of one’s own culture, values, beliefs, and behaviors on
interactions with diverse populations.
Include evidence‐based practice in decisions about assessment, care and
evaluation.
F. The ability to function as a member of the services teams.
Describe the impact of communication styles on groups and individuals.
Communicate concisely with other professionals, integrating theory and
evidence‐based practice to obtain and share pertinent information.
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