Hi everyone! Sorry I haven’t updated this month. Been busy with Vacation Bible School this week at my church. This post is going to be a little different from the norm. Normally, I talk about a certain type of toy for a particular diagnosis, a worthy cause for children or what have you, but this post is about wants and needs.
We all have wants and needs and we all want to see these things fulfilled. These can be from wanting to put a down payment on a house or you may need a second job. For me, I want and need a child life internship. This fits into both categories for two reason. Reason one, I need a child life internship in order to graduate from my college. At this very moment, my internship is the ONLY course I have left to take. I would like to say that again: my internship is the ONLY course I have left to take in order to graduate with a degree in Child Life. I feel like so many people do not understand that little sentence. I have had people that go to school with me be like “So can you graduate now? You have your internship for child development and family studies can you graduate?” If I go ahead and graduate and then get an internship for child life, I have to put in an EXTRA 30-32 credit hours along with the internship. Therefore that is why I have decided to hang on and fight out the storm until I get an internship. I also need an internship to sit for the certification exam. For those who are Certified Child Life Specialist or even a student, know that you need an internship in order to get to the next step and that is the exam.
Reason two, I want this internship so I can become a Certified Child Life Specialist. I want to teach children that their illness doesn’t define them, but they define themselves.
While I understand that becoming a CCLS has become extremely competitive it doesn’t have to be. If hospitals could take more than one intern it would help so many students and set them on the right path. Because some students may not get the help that is needed from their school.
“Life is tough darling, but so are you.”
Stephanie Bennett Henry
Until next time!
peacehopeandplaysite 
I had a lady yesterday ask me while I was volunteering “why are you not working as a child life specialist?” I told her because I need to get an internship. I have a BA in psychology and am taking a few child life classes currently. Only problem is the internship. The hospital I volunteer at had staffing issues so that did not even do the internship this past fall. Not sure if they will again. I have a family so the only place I can do it is here in town. So for now I will continue to volunteer and try to find other places to help children. Then maybe one day an assistant job or an internship will open back up. GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!
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Hi Mary, thank you for taking the time to read my post and leaving a comment. That is to bad about your local hospital. What hospital is that? I just wish we could do internships in a different setting other then a hospital. I know that we can if we can find a CLS who has the 4,000 hours, but that would be hard to locate someone outside of the hospital. Good luck in your search and I hope something comes up! 🙂
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Hello,
I totally agree with you regarding wants and needs. We want and need a internship. I’m a independent student so it’s even harder for me but this journey have built up my faith. (Ecclesiastes 9:11) verse: The race is not given to the swift nor the strong but he who endures until the end. “We all will reap if we faint not “ Furthermore, when we become CCLS we can asked the board to have more than one Practicum student and intern a semester because it’s ridiculous to have so many students who can’t get a Practicum or internship. As your other blog said the Lord have plans for us all and they will be fulfilled in Jesus Name . Amen
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Hi Janay!
Glad to hear this journey has built up your faith instead of tearing it down. This is a hard process and that could easily tear it down. That verse is so true! It is not given to the swift or the strong, but whoever endorse till the end. Whoever has faith in the Lord, will be blessed and in more ways than what they could ever imagine. What we have imagined for ourselves is so much smaller than what God has planned for our lives. We just have to trust him. That is easier said than done sometimes. I can’t count how many times I have found myself crying because I am so stressed or just overly tired from this journey.
YES! There needs to be more than one practicum student and way more than one internship student. I believe that for every CLS (or really every floor of the hospital that has a CLS) there should be an intern (unless the CLS are newer and do not have the 4,000 hours). For example, if a hospital has 9 floors and every floor has a CLS then there should be 9 interns. In my opinion. What I don’t understand is when it comes time to get a MA in CL are those universities that offer CL going to take more students? I have been talking to several universities and some say they only take 9 and other universities take 20. That just isn’t enough. There needs to be more spots in every area of this field. Whether that be practicums, internships or graduate programs. I do believe that there is going to come a day where CL wont exist if they don’t step up their game. People are going to retire and there will not be enough CLS to fill those shoes of those who have gone before us.
Thank you for commenting on my blog. I look forward in hearing from you in the future 🙂
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