[For Students] Goodness of Fit: Clinical Sites and the Student Experience

April 24, 2023

[For Students] Goodness of Fit: Clinical Sites and the Student Experience

How do I know if a clinical site is right for me? This can be a tough question to answer. Many people recommend applying to a lot of hospital sites for practicum and internship, so how do we determine our next steps? A few basics to consider: Affiliation: Are you affiliated and what hospitals are […]

How do I know if a clinical site is right for me?

This can be a tough question to answer. Many people recommend applying to a lot of hospital sites for practicum and internship, so how do we determine our next steps?

A few basics to consider:

  • Affiliation: Are you affiliated and what hospitals are you able to apply to based on that criteria? 
  • Location: Do you have support nearby? Can you afford to move to a really expensive city like New York?
  • Size of program: Maybe you don’t have a preference and there are pros and cons to big and small programs but, you want to consider your learning style and how you think you would learn best.
  • Specialities or community programs: Do you specifically want to work in a hospital with a facility dog? Interested in an advocacy center? Want to learn more about sibling support groups? These are all things to consider when exploring hospital sites. 

How do I know if a program is going to be the right educational place for me?

This is where you can use your resources and reflect on what questions you have for a department

  1. Learn from others. Do you have anyone in your life who is pursuing certification or already certified? What positive experiences have they had? What about those experiences do you feel would be beneficial to your educational journey? 
  2. Consider what questions you have during an interview. These should be thoughtful questions that help guide your thoughts and help you determine if this hospital will be a good fit for you.

As I was going through the interview process I thought “I don’t care, I’ll go anywhere”. You may have similar thoughts. What I learned was that, after each interview, I could start to get a sense for each hospital site and whether I would be excited to be a part of their team. My top choice hospital quickly changed as I went through the process and continued to talk with child life specialists and my peers. When it came down to offer week, I had two offers I was trying to decide between. It was a stressful 24 hours for sure. But I had to consider location, cost, learning environment, and what would be best for my future as a child life specialist. 

Every person will vary on the number of places they apply to and the locations they choose. It’s important to remember that everyone’s journey looks different. There is not always a “right” or “wrong” way on the path to certification. Some people can only apply locally, some people have no local child life programs and have to look elsewhere! Some people will apply to 40 hospitals across the country. The biggest part of this process is to do what is going to be best for you! 

My 3 Takeaways:

  • Start with the basics when researching hospitals. 

  • Self-reflect and determine what you need to do for yourself

  • Don’t compare yourself to others, every journey looks different

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