Health Play Specialist

Job Description:

Health play specialists understand child development and use therapeutic play activities to help children cope when in hospital.

Job Category:

Health Care & Social Assistance

As part of this role you may:

carry out therapeutic assessments
design play activities to meet children’s individual needs
plan and run play, art and craft activities at the bedside, on the ward or in a hospital play area
create an environment that encourages play
talk to parents or carers about the value of play and suggest suitable activities
organise parties and other special events

You’ll need:

As well as:

patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
sensitivity and understanding
the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure (leadership skills)
to be flexible and open to change (adaptability skills)
the ability to understand people’s reactions

You can get into this job through:

University

You’ll need a foundation degree in a healthcare play specialism. To get onto the course, you usually need:

Courses are a mix of practical work and theory. If you’re not already working in healthcare play, you need to arrange a placement during the course.

Apprenticeship

You may be able to do a health play specialist practitioner higher apprenticeship.

You will need some experience of working with children in a childcare or healthcare setting.

Volunteering

Volunteering in a healthcare setting will give you useful work experience for applying for courses and jobs.

A typical week consists of 37-39 hours of work. You could be required to work weekends.

You could work in a public or private hospital. You may need to wear a uniform.

You could go on to work outside of a hospital setting, for example in a child development centre, hospice, or within a community paediatric team.

With experience, you could progress to team leader or team manager.

You could also apply to train as a healthcare professional, like a nurse or occupational therapist.