Child Life Practicum

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The Child Life Practicum at McLane Children’s Hospital is offered in both the fall and spring semesters and is designed for individuals interested in pursuing a career as a certified child life specialist.

During the practicum, students can become familiar with the child life profession and learn from/observe child life specialists applying theory into practice in their daily work.

A large part of the practicum schedule consists of shadowing child life specialists in various areas of the hospital to gain assessment skills through observation. There are also learning opportunities through hands-on experiences with patients and families, in-services, journaling, special events and projects.

Practicum Requirements

Applicants must:

Be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree AND receive course credit for the practicum. McLane Children’s will only accept students affiliated with a college or university during the time of the practicum.
Attend a university that has a current affiliation agreement with Baylor Scott & White Health. If you have a question about your university’s affiliation, check with your advisor first. At this time, we are unable to enter into new affiliation agreements. If your school is not on the agreement list, you will not be eligible to apply with us.
Cumulative overall GPA of 3.0.
Complete at least three (3) required university courses (play, child development, child life) as stated on the TACLP application.
Have a variety of work or volunteer experiences with well children in a group or individual setting.
Be committed to working approximately 150-200 hours for the designated semester. These hours will vary depending on the schedules of the rotation supervisors and the university’s program requirements.

Additionally, it is highly recommended applicants have experience working with children in a healthcare setting, preferably in a child life program, or with children with special needs. These hours must be fully documented in the application.

Application information

All required items must be submitted as Microsoft Word or PDF attachments via email to McLaneChildLifeStudentCommittee@bswhealth.org. Any other formatting will make the application incomplete and will not be considered. Paper applications will not be considered. Late submissions will not be considered.

Completed applications include the following:

TACLP Common Child Life Practicum Application
Professional resume
College or university transcript(s)
- Please send a separate transcript for each institution
- Must indicate cumulative GPA
- Does not need to be official
Three (3) TACLP reference forms
- Must include one from an academic professor and one from someone who has directly observed and can assess your work with children
- We will accept an electronic version of the reference form emailed directly to McLaneChildLifeStudentCommittee@bswhealth.org
  - Must be emailed directly to us from the person writing the reference
  - They need to include your name (the applicant) in the email subject line

Applicants who submit incomplete or falsified applications will not be considered.

Application review and interviews

Completed applications received by the due date are reviewed utilizing a scoring matrix. The top-scoring candidates will receive an invitation to interview with the McLane Children’s student committee.

At the conclusion of the interview process, a practicum placement opportunity is offered to the top-scoring candidate, who has 24 hours to accept or reject the placement offer.

Application deadline schedule

Be sure that you complete and submit your online application by 12 p.m. midnight CST on the deadline date listed below. Your two reference forms must also be emailed by the person writing the reference by 12 p.m. midnight CST on the deadline date listed below.

Any application or references received late will not be considered. No exceptions will be made to this.

Practicum	Application Deadline	Interviews	Date Applicant is Notified	Acceptance Deadline
Spring	Details to come	Details to come	Details to come	Details to come
Fall 2022	March 15, 2022	March and April	Initial Offer: May 3, 2022 2nd Offer: May 5, 2022	May 4, 2022

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