Job Description - Activity Coordinator - PRN (As Needed) - DC - Child Life and Integrated Care (2400023H)
The Activity Coordinator provides opportunities for children to gain a sense of mastery through play and learning experiences. The Activity Coordinator is responsible for providing therapeutic and diversionary play activities to an assigned group of pediatric patients and/or siblings to promote normalization of the hospital environment, positive adaptation to the hospital, and a family-centered care focus. Requires excellent communication, group management, and organizational skills. The Activity Coordinator will demonstrate a strong commitment to a team approach.
Qualifications
Minimum Education:
Associate's Degree in Child Development or related field (Required)
Minimum Work Experience:
1 year of job-related experience working with children or two years of college education in child development or related field is required. (Required)
Required Skills/Knowledge:
Knowledge of child and adolescent growth and development, high level of interpersonal communication skills, effective oral and written communication skills, ability to work independently and as a team member with proven knowledge of medical terminology. Candidate must have experience working with individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Functional Accountabilities
Hospital Environment/Developmental Needs:
- Introduces patient programming and supportive services to patients, parents, and siblings.
- Plans, facilitates, and supervises group and spontaneous play opportunities for assigned patient care area(s).
- Encourages socialization and peer interaction between patients and families by organizing and providing a monthly calendar of scheduled activities for play spaces.
- Supervises and/or monitors play activities for assigned patient care area(s).
- Maintains play space as a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment by ensuring medical procedures/consults/meetings occur outside of area.
- Encourages caregiver involvement in play area activities for normalization and informs patients, families, and health care team of available resources.
- Provides input to the Child Life Specialist about observed specific needs of individual children; determines when the needs of individual children should be attended to by child life specialists, nursing and/or medical professionals, and outside the general scope of the activity coordinator role.
- Responsible for ongoing supervision and support to volunteers in playroom, play spaces, or bedside.
Developmentally Appropriate Activities:
- Delivers toys/activities to patient rooms that support adjustment to hospitalization, encourage play, and promote normal growth and development as requested by Child Life Specialist, Nursing, or self-referral.
- Provides one-on-one interaction with patients as determined by Child Life Specialist or self-referral.
- Provides opportunities for choice and encourages involvement in decision making.
- Recognizes and builds on the strength of families by acknowledging and utilizing parents’ knowledge of patient’s abilities, interests, and needs.
- Identifies patients for volunteer support and provides guidance to volunteers in the selection of age/developmentally appropriate activities.
- Engages and collaborates with hospital programs and ancillary services to enhance patient support as appropriate.
Patient/Family Environment:
- Organizes play space to be a welcoming environment for patients and families.
- Inventories, restocks, and maintains play space materials in collaboration with Child Life Specialist.
- Cleans toys/games/equipment daily in accordance with hospital toy washing policy.
- Completes required documentation of Toy Cleaning Log.
- Facilitates contact with EVS, Facilities, and Bio-Med to ensure play space and equipment are well maintained.
- Adheres to hospital policy regarding visitors and siblings in play space.
- Safely assists patients to and from play space and special events.
- Reports concerns/safety incidents to the Director of the department for follow-up and documents safety concerns per department and hospital policy.
Professional Environment & Standards:
- Meet with Department Director for regular supervision, preparing an agenda and discussing areas of concern.
- Respond to requests for services as stated in department standards.
- Participate in Child Life meetings as appropriate and in departmental staff meetings.
- Meet all departmental requirements for chart recording, statistics, and other professional documentation and submit documents in a timely manner.
- Participate in departmental performance improvement activities.
- Plan absences in collaboration with Child Life and Integrative Care team members.
- Participate in professional development activities.
- Participate in planning of community outreach and advocacy events.
Organizational Accountabilities:
- Anticipate and respond to customer needs; follow up until needs are met.
- Demonstrate collaborative and respectful behavior.
- Partner with all team members to achieve goals.
- Receptive to others’ ideas and opinions.
- Contribute to a positive work environment.
- Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to change.
- Identify opportunities to improve clinical and administrative processes.
- Make appropriate decisions, using sound judgment.
- Use resources efficiently.
- Search for less costly ways of doing things.