Interview #1: Done!

One interview down, (hopefully) many more to go!

All morning I studied and prepared for this interview. I made notes from the child life text, placed post-it tabs on the text and activity book, organized notes on child development from my parenting class, and reviewed suggestions from a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS). I was bound and determined to be as prepared as possible for my first interview...and for the most part, I was.

The interview went well; the ladies were nice, and I feel like I did a decent job of answering their questions. It lasted 45 minutes, and by the time I was finished telling my mom and Dawn about how it went, my voice was just plain tired. I directed all other inquiries to this post...hehe.

For all those curious minds out there, here's what they asked (in no particular order):

• Why do I want an internship with ACH?
• Tell about my practicum (field work) experience.
• Tell about paid experience working with children.
• Discuss an instance working with children when I would have done something differently.
• Tell about a time when I received negative feedback during my practicum experience.
• Discuss a time when I worked as part of a team.
• Give an example of a time when I had to be flexible and how I handled it.
• What are my goals for a Child Life Internship?
• What is my philosophy for working with children?
• Describe family-centered care.
• What are the strengths of my (FACS) curriculum?
• Since I'm not a member of the Child Life Council, what do I know about benefits of membership, and trends in the field of Child Life?
• Describe my experience with death and how I handled it.
• If you were in a hospital elevator and someone inquired about "Child Life" on your name tag, what would you tell them?

Whew! I think that's it!
On another exciting note, my cell phone was out of service all day (as is typical when I'm at home), but when I finished the interview, I received two voice mail messages--both from potential internship sites! Upon listening to the messages, I am excited to say that two more sites were interested in offering me an interview! Yayyy.
So to update my interview schedule:

• Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, AR (5-13 @ 1 p.m.) - Done.
• St. Luke's Children's Hospital in Boise, ID (5-15 @ 3 p.m.)
• Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, TX (5-15 @ 4 p.m.)
• Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children in Falls Church, VA (5-20 @ 10 a.m.)

Still waiting to hear from:

• Georgetown Pediatrics in Washington, D.C.
• Cincinnati Children's Hospital
• Nationwide Children's Hosptital in Columbus, OH
• Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital in Baton Rouge, LA
• Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio, TX

For clarification on the 10th site, I applied to a hospital in New Jersey (and was really looking forward to the opportunity to live with my 4-H ladies, Emily and Danielle), but their internship dates conflict with my graduation requirements, so it's a "no-go."
That's all folks!
Lauren