Combining Play, Medical Education and Coping Strategies, Kayley Teich and Jordyn Stokes-James Seek to Improve the Pediatric Patient Experience
In her previous job, child life specialist Kayley Teich helped a boy who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. Although quite young, the boy was old enough to understand the basics about his condition.
"Thankfully his family was very open to talking to him about it," Teich said. "So we were using the words ‘tumor' and ‘cancer'."
Teich wrote a social story for the boy about his hospitalization and the tumor that brought him there. Later, they used a Jello mold to make a Jello brain and a tumor out of Crayola Model Magic clay. The activities were fun, Teich says, and "[gave] him a good physical understanding of his diagnosis in an appropriate way for him to learn."
Child life specialist play an important role to improve the hospital experience of pediatric patients. They help them understand the medical procedures they will undergo, develop effective coping strategies, and, in the case of terminal prognoses, think about how they want to be remembered. They also work to ensure that kids still get to be kids, despite being in the hospital.
Teich also helped her cancer patient develop coping strategies for medical procedures. When it came to daily blood tests, for example, the pair reviewed "all the choices he had … where he sat, what he wanted mom to do," Teich says. "He was actually a pretty funny kid, and mom allowed him to curse during procedures."
The goal was to give the boy a sense of control. Teich also introduced practical tools such as Buzzy, a vibrating bumblebee icepack to interrupt the pain signals of needle sticks during frequent blood tests.
Teich, who has a master's of science in child life, administration and family collaboration, is now bringing that same expertise to the Clinical Center Department of Pediatrics. She is joined by Jordyn Stokes-James, who holds a master's degree in developmental psychology and previously interned at Johns Hopkins and worked at the Hospital for Sick Children.
The pair, who were hired in October, were fully credentialed to work with Clinical Center patients in December.
Stokes-James and Teich spent the early weeks of their tenure meeting hospital teams and observing medical procedures and patient interactions.
Based on those initial consultations and observations, Stokes-James and Teich say they have insights on ways to improve the pediatric patient experience. "There are a lot of needs," Stokes-James said.
Deborah Merke, M.D., chief of the Department of Pediatrics, said, "Bringing child life services to our pediatric patients and their families has been a huge step forward in reducing the stress and burden of the hospital experience."
Ruth Parker, DNP, chief of advanced practitioners & support services section at the Clinical Center Department of Pediatrics, says the department is thrilled to have Teich and Stokes-James onboard in the newly created staff positions.
"The need for support for pediatric patients and caring for families both in the inpatient and outpatient setting is vast," Parker said. "So it is really, really wonderful to have two more [colleagues] to support patients and families," she said.
Parker says the work that child life specialists do to prepare children for surgery and other care procedures is especially valuable. "It really helps bring the anxiety down and helps them cope," she said.
In working with children, Stokes-James says the starting point is always play. "We tailor it based off developmental age and other needs, but a big part of it is that play and providing that normalcy first," she said. "Then, as we learn more about the child we can tailor interventions according to their specific needs. That can include diagnosis education, pill swallowing, personalized coping plans for procedures and so much more."
While Stokes-James and Teich are the first child life specialists to work at the Clinical Center, the field dates to the 1920s.
- Sean Markey