Child life specialists play special role in IU Health North's emergency room

If a child needs pediatric emergency medical attention at IU Health North, most days families will meet Trista Roller and Aspen Woodyard, two certified child life specialists, soon after arriving.

"As soon as the patient walks in the door, I'm seeing which parent they're attached to, if they're attached to any, if they're walking in by themselves, how they're behaving, if they seem comfortable, if they're looking around what they're looking at," Roller explained. "Then as soon as we get in the room I'm looking at, 'How are they going to do with vitals?' Making it feel as normal as possible when they're here in an unfamiliar environment."

Six child life specialists serve IU Health North: three work in the ER, one child life specialist works in the hematology/oncology outpatient clinic, one is assigned to surgery, and one child life specialist sees kids who are inpatient. Often patients and families will notice the child life specialists constantly have toys in-hand, but their job is much more than play.

"Play is definitely the biggest misconception we have because everybody sees us, they see the iPads, the light wands, and the bubbles, and they're like, 'Oh that's such a fun job,' and while it is, play is only one part of normalizing the hospital environment," Woodyard said. "We also provide that education aspect, we provide coping for not only the patient but families and siblings. We're definitely a big part of the bereavement process: memory-making, legacy-building, making sure that families know that even though sometimes they have to leave their loved one here with us that we're going to give them something to take home with them as well."

As the child life specialists work to serve children's needs, they also assist the medical care teams.

"A typical day for me depends since it is the ER. Somedays I'm playing a lot and other days I'm in and out of every room, preparing kids for IVs, making sure they know what to expect, or what comes next in their care."

When asked if she has any final thoughts for those reading this article, Roller immediately pointed to the patients in her care.

"I think people just need to know how resilient kids are and how well they're able to bounce back from things once things are explained to them," Roller said. "Once they know what's happening, they can get through the hard things with the correct support."