Child Life Internship

The ACLP offers a Diversity Scholarship to support students from diverse backgrounds completing a child life internship. Applications can be found here: https://www.childlife.org/certification/certification-resources/internship-deadlines/diversity-scholarships  

At this time, we are planning to offer a child life internship in spring 2022. However, due to the rapidly changing conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to offer a child life internship may be affected at any point during the application, interview or offer process. Please email chofsa.childlife.students@christushealth.org with any questions.

The Child Life Department at The Children's Hospital of San Antonio offers a 15-week/600 hour clinical accredited child life internship designed to give the intern maximum experience in the hospital setting. The first week is an orientation to our hospital and the Child Life Department. We will also review ACLP internship curriculum modules and complete all necessary onboarding requirements. The remaining weeks are divided into clinical rotations giving the intern experience with all ages of children from infants to adolescents. One week will be designated for site visits to other child life programs, community resources and benevolent organizations that compliment child life services. Child life interns will also be exposed to a variety of medical settings and experiences designed to strengthen each intern's skill set.

Interns work in various inpatient and outpatient settings gaining experience in the following skill sets:

• Building rapport with patients and families,
• Utilizing growth, development and family systems theories for assessment and intervention planning,
• Planning and facilitating developmentally appropriate play activities for hospitalized children both in playrooms/group activities and individual sessions,
• Providing child life therapeutic interventions,
• Participating in preparation for and support during procedures and treatments,
• Conducting medical play sessions,
• Conducting assessments, developmental observations and other assignments, all under the supervision of Certified Child Life Specialists.

Our internship provides two clinical rotations along with roundtable learning experiences weekly, reading assignments, weekly journals, article reviews, and project work. Interns will have weekly meetings with their preceptor and the internship coordinators. Intern applicants should expect to work 40-plus hours a week with additional reading and project work to be done aside from assigned hospital hours. The internship is aligned with ACLP curriculum modules.

Required readings prior to the internship (these can be purchased thru ACLP):

1. Gaynard, L., Wolfer, J., Goldberger, J., Thompson, R., Redburn, L., and Laidley, L. (1990). Psychosocial Care of Children in Hospitals: A Clinical Practice Manual. Bethesda, MD: Association for the Care of Children's Health.
2. Bolig, Rosemary., Mahan, Carmel., Rollins, Judy. (2018). Meeting Children's Psychosocial Needs Across the Health-Care Continuum, Pro-ed, Austin, TX
3. Thompson, Richard. (2018). The Handbook of Child Life, A Guide for Pediatric Psychosocial Care, Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. Springfield, IL

*Additional require readings from ACLP curriculum modules will be provided during the internship.

The Children's Hospital of San Antonio Child Life Internship Program currently accepts university-affiliated students and non-affiliated/independent students. Currently, our child life program has affiliations with several universities. However, if your university does not have an affiliation with our hospital, our corporate legal team and your university’s legal team will have to facilitate a contract. This is a time sensitive issue and it may not be completed by the internship start date. If you have questions regarding your university’s affiliation, please email chofsa.childlife.students@christushealth.org.

Interns not affiliated with a university are required to obtain liability insurance prior to the start of the internship at your own cost. Information on how to obtain liability insurance will be provided prior to start date if needed. University-affiliated interns will need to provide proof of liability insurance through their academic institution. Interns must provide proof of immunizations, COVID-19 vaccine and TB test results prior to start date. Interns will be responsible for obtaining a flu shot per hospital infection prevention guidelines.

1. Applicants must be pursuing a master’s degree or a bachelor's degree in child life, child development, or a related field.
2. Must show academic mastery in the applicant's core curriculum (i.e. child development, education, family and human development).
3. Applicants must have 100 hours of work or volunteer experience with well children and/or families in group or individual settings. These hours must be fully documented in your application.
4. Applicants must have 150 combined hours of experience with children in a health care setting or stress-related environment. One-hundred hours must come from a child life practicum experience. The additional 50 hours can come from the child life practicum or other appropriate settings. Examples may include additional practicum hours, medical camp experiences, volunteer experiences with special needs children/families, and employment. These hours must be fully documented in your application.
   1. Applicants must have completed a minimum of 100 hours of their child life practicum experience with hospitalized or chronically ill children at the time the application is due. The practicum must be completed under the direction of a Certified Child Life Specialist. The ACLP practicum in-progress form will be accepted if the practicum is not complete at the time the application is due. Verification of child life practicum hours on institution letterhead is required for completed practicum.
   2. Please note, if you have accumulated less than 100 hours in your practicum by the time the application is due, your application will not be considered for review.
5. Applicants must have documentation of a completed ACLP Official Eligibility Assessment Report. This will include your coursework review. Applicants must provide the Course in Progress Form from the ACLP if needed to support current course enrollment. All required courses must be completed by the start of the internship. Necessary documentation to support course completion will be requested by the internship coordinator prior to the start of the internship.
6. Two references are required to support your application. We will accept the Internship Candidate Common Recommendation Form from the ACLP or independent reference letters. One reference must be from someone who has directly observed your work with children and can speak to your skill set. A reference from your practicum experience is highly preferred. No more than two references will be accepted. 
   1. Please note, if more than two references are submitted, your application will not be considered for review.
   2. Reference forms can be submitted with your application or emailed directly from your reference to chofsa.childlife.students@christushealth.org.
7. If you do not meet the above stated requirements, exceptions cannot be made and your application will not be considered for review.

Our internship program is currently offered in the fall and spring semesters. We are unable to accommodate summer internships. Applications are due per ACLP guidelines. Please visit the ACLP’s website https://www.childlife.org/resources/for-educators-internship-coordinators/internship-deadlines for more information. Deadlines are as follows:

Fall Session
Application Deadline: March 15
Initial Offer Date: First Tuesday of May
Initial Acceptance Date: The following Wednesday
Second Offer Date: The following Thursday

Winter/Spring Session
Application Deadline: September 5
Initial Offer Date: Second Monday of October
Initial Acceptance Date: Second Tuesday of October 

Please return completed application packet with the following included:

• ACLP Common Application Form - https://www.childlife.org/resources/for-educators-internship-coordinators/internship-deadlines
• Completed ACLP Eligibility Assessment, which includes your coursework review indicating, "passed."
  • ACLP Course in progress forms (Child Life or Additional), if necessary, to support current academic course enrollment
• Two references of recommendation (no more than 2 can be submitted). References can be submitted with mailed application packet or via email/PDF to CHOFSA.ChildLife.Students@christushealth.org.
• Student/Unofficial transcripts from all colleges/universities attended 
• Proof of completed practicum with ACLP Proof of Completed Practicum form, verification of practicum with hours listed on institution letterhead or ACLP Practicum In-Progress form.
• Verification of volunteer hours
• Current professional resume with cover letter

Applications must be post-marked or emailed with the application in PDF form by ACLP deadlines and sent to:

The Children's Hospital of San Antonio
Child Life Department
Child Life Internship Coordinator
333 North Santa Rosa Street
San Antonio, Texas 78207
Phone: 210-704-3795
Fax: 210-704-2454
Email: CHOFSA.ChildLife.Students@christushealth.org

It is recommended that you send your application certified mail if you want assurance it was delivered. Due to the volume of applications we receive, we are unable to verify the delivery for candidates. Candidates are encouraged to utilize email submission to save money and to ensure application is delivered prior to application deadline.

The internship committee will review all applications to ensure applications are complete and meet our requirements. We use a review process that includes a scoring matrix in each step of the application and interview process. We will then:

1. Identify our initial candidate pool from the applications and conduct a brief phone interview.
2. Extend offers and conduct final interviews using the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI format). Specific details regarding the MMI format will be communicated to candidates via email prior to the final interview.
3. Final interviews are typically held one to two weeks prior to the initial offer date.
   1. Interview dates will be pre-selected each semester and communicated to the candidates.
   2. All final interviews will be conducted using Zoom to support COVID-19 restrictions.

Please contact the Child Life Internship Coordinator via email at CHOFSA.ChildLife.Students@christushealth.org with any questions you may have concerning the application process or the internship program. We wish you well on your journey to become a Child Life Specialist!