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Child Life Practicum

Baylor Scott & White McLane Children's

Child Life Practicum

The Child Life Practicum at McLane Children’s Hospital will be offered for the Summer 2023 semester and is designed for individuals interested in pursuing a career as a certified child life specialist. During the practicum, students will have an opportunity to become familiar with the child life profession and to learn from/observe child life specialists applying theory into practice in their daily work. A large part of the practicum schedule consists of students shadowing child life specialists in a variety of areas of the hospital to gain assessment skills through observation. There will also be learning opportunities through “hands-on” experiences with patients and families, in-services, journaling, special events and projects.

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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 should be submitted as either 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:

  • SACLP 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 TACLP reference forms- One must come 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 and they should be emailed directly to: mclanechildlifestudentcommittee@bswhealth.org.

ALL 3 REFERENCE FORMS MUST BE EMAILED DIRECTLY TO US, FROM THE PERSON WRITING THE REFERENCE. Please have them include YOUR NAME in the subject line of the email.

SACLP reference form

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

Child Life internship

The Child Life Internship 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. Information about certification process, coursework, and eligibility requirements for certification along with career planning information can be found at the Association of Child Life Professionals website.

Internship positions at McLane Children’s are full time (40 hours/week) for 16 weeks. Participating students can expect to gain knowledge in core child life competencies.

Interns are involved in the planning and implementation of developmentally and emotionally supportive programming for infants, children, and adolescents. Students are expected to incorporate play, emotional support, healthcare education and family involvement to enhance the social, emotional, intellectual, and physical well-being of children and families in the healthcare setting.

Interns rotate through different areas of the hospital during their experience. A variety of inpatient and outpatient areas will be offered each semester for student training opportunities in both. Final placement decisions are made at the discretion of the student program coordinators.

Internship Requirements

  • Internship students must be currently enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate program affiliated with Baylor Scott & White Health.
  • Child life intern applicants must complete the Association of Child Life Professionals course review through the Eligibility Assessment completed prior to beginning to the internship program.
  • Applicants must have at least 100 hours of direct experience with typically developing children in individual or group settings.
  • Applicants must have completed a minimum of 100 hours practicum experience working under the direct supervision of a Child Life Specialist in a healthcare setting. The practicum experience in a pediatric healthcare setting is a requirement.
  • The outlined requirements must be met by the application postmark deadline for the candidate to be considered.

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, falsified, or incomplete submissions will not be considered. McLane Children’s follows the ACLP internship application deadlines, which can be found on the ACLP website.

The ACLP is launching a new common application in January, you can check out this link for more information.

Completed applications include the following:

  • ACLP Common Child Life Internship Common Application
  • Professional resume
  • ACLP Eligibility Assessment
  • Practicum Verification Form
  • 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) ACLP 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
      • Must include applicant’s name in the email subject line

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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