We were lucky to catch up with Alyssa Pettingill recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Alyssa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?

I’ve been fortunate to have many rewarding memories in my career so far because of the young individuals I have the pleasure of working with. One particular teen patient stands out in my mind because I was able to get to know her over the course of 8-9 months. To respect her privacy, I’ll refer to her as “Jen.”

“Jen” was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at the age of 16 and I remember feeling like we got off on the worst foot because I had prepared her for the wrong type of procedure. The team had initially thought her symptoms presented as one type of leukemia when it was in fact another, leading to a last minute change in the type of vein access device she needed. I recall apologizing to her and her family profusely, concerned that “Jen” wouldn’t trust me as I would be the one to prepare her for many treatment related procedures in the future. Jen briefly noted, “it was fine” and was stoic during my initial check ins. But as she progressed with her treatment, she continued to let me in more and more. She would engage me in conversations about all types of topics-her treatment, plans for school, and more. She included me in the “highs and lows” of treatment, leaning on me when she needed an advocate and venting to me when her body wasn’t cooperating like she thought it should. It wasn’t until the last few months of her treatment that she told me that my consistent presence and relationship with her inspired her to want to become a Child Life Specialist.

I had the incredible fortune of seeing her start to follow through with that plan, first graduating an entire year early from high school and starting Child Development classes all while going through chemotherapy. She could have been anything she wanted but our time together shaped her future, which I’ll always be proud of.

Alyssa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

There are so many different professions within the healthcare field but one that largely remains unrecognized is the Child Life profession. I, too, didn’t have a clue what Child Life was until I was a junior in college. At this point in my life, I already knew that I wanted a career working with children but I struggled to find one that didn’t limit my ability to work with multiple age groups. When my mom brought the Child Life field to my attention, I did my research and quickly realized that I may have found the perfect career path. I was drawn to the ability to work within a fast paced environment, have the opportunity to work with different age groups, and be in a field where I could constantly learn new things.

After completing a short internship at Rady Children’s Hospital in 2012, I started tackling the many requirements needed to become a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS). As a CCLS, my job is to help children and teens develop effective coping skills in order to navigate challenging life events; some examples include coping with a serious injury, a chronic illness, or processing the death of a loved one. Many years later, I’m still very passionate about my work and have transitioned from working in the hospital to the community setting. In June 2022, I opened my own Child Life private practice, known as EmpoweringKidz LLC.

From having worked in the pediatric hospital setting for several years until this past summer, I have learned that families greatly benefit from having emotional support throughout their medical journey. Questions and concerns often arise after a family leaves the hospital setting and without early intervention and support, these families end up struggling. Some parents put off tough conversations around treatment with their sick children, children develop misconceptions about how they became sick, and other issues follow suit. These trying circumstances ultimately inspired me to start EmpoweringKidz.

EmpoweringKidz serves as an extension of Child Life services that some families are able to receive in pediatric hospitals while also being an accessible service to any family unit navigating some kind of medical challenge. This could be anything from needle phobia, food allergies, a caregiver with a chronic illness, or a child with a life threatening illness such as renal disease, leukemia, etc. When a clinician such as myself is able to be involved early on, I can educate or prepare your child for what is coming next or help them process what has already happened. What separates a Child Life Specialist from other mental health providers is our knowledge and understanding of the pediatric patient experience. I know what a typical surgery visit looks like, what types of procedures are likely to be needed for certain diagnoses, and most importantly, the best ways to empower children to be active participants in their medical journey. Using my Child Development knowledge base, I make clinical assessments and individualize all interventions provided to clients. I also take the time to talk with caregivers about their own stressors, helping them to build the skills they need to feel comfortable advocating for their child in overwhelming situations. After a few sessions with me, your child’s anxiety should decrease and their resiliency will shine.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Throughout my career, I have been granted the opportunity to work with many different patient populations. I have worked with children with cystic fibrosis, gastrointestinal issues, life threatening food allergies, and oncological diagnoses. What I did not realize was that there would be situations where I would come across serious traumas. One of the most emotionally trying cases of my career came about when I was just starting out as a new Child Life Specialist.

When I started my first full time job, I was working in the pediatric intensive care unit at Lucile Packard Stanford Children’s Hospital. A few months in, I was assigned a trauma case that involved a 16 year old boy who had attempted to commit suicide. He had been rushed to the hospital by his family and was transitioned to the ICU so the medical team could try and save his life. Only hours later, I was informed that the teenage boy died, survived by his two younger siblings, ages 4 and 7 and his parents. Despite this news already being heartbreaking, what made it even more difficult was realizing that the parents needed guidance about how to inform the siblings of their brother’s death.

I recall the day so well…sitting with both parents, grandparents, and the two young kids as I explained death in simple, concrete terms so that the concepts could clearly be understood. Explaining suicide in relation to death was even more tricky because it warranted a conversation around their brother’s mental health which is hard for children to decipher at a young age. Seeing the anguish and grief on all these family members’ faces really challenged me mentally and physically. It was a stressful, emotional experience that made me realize the strong I can have on children and families. Although this case was overwhelming, it was also validating because if I could be a valued support in situations like this, I could help others in so many ways.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

In order to succeed in a field that is still relatively unheard of, you have to be strong willed and confident in your skills. I say this because a big part of my role has always been educating others about Child Life and why it’s important. Even when I worked in a pediatric hospital within a larger Child Life department, many other hospital team members didn’t have a clear understanding of how I could improve the patient’s experience in different situations. I found myself sharing with nurses, doctors, MRI technicians, and others, the types of accommodations that could help patients cope better and reiterating over and over how these ideas fall under my job title. At times I felt like a broken record having to advocate for myself and my patients but that is absolutely necessary when you work in a fast paced environment like the hospital. There are so many “cooks in the kitchen” and everyone has a responsibility to take care of many families at once.

In sum, you have to believe in yourself and your skills enough to feel comfortable speaking up to others. If you can be successful in that, others will realize how valuable of an asset you are to the team, and most importantly, the patient.

Contact Info:

• Website: empoweringkidz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EmpoweringKidzSD/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086960855971
• Linkedin: https://www.instagram.com/EmpoweringKidzSD/
• Other: To Learn More, Check Out my Website or Contact EmpoweringKidz at [email protected]

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