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10:00 am to 4:30 pm

Program Description:  Child Life Specialists (CLS) are members of the health care team who provide support for patients and their family members throughout their hospital journey. Their services and support vary depending on the needs of each individual patient and family that they encounter. CLS have special expertise to educate and work alongside the interdisciplinary team.  Some of their activities include utilizing therapeutic play to allow the child to understand their time in the hospital system,  preparing patients for what they are going to experience in the hospital to promote positive coping, assisting with pain management techniques and how to empower a patient to do difficult tasks in addition to supporting the family throughout this journey.  All these interactions are guided by the CLS’s knowledge of child development. 

The goal of this special program is to provide a forum to share information of the roles of Child Life Specialists (CLS) in Nephrology with fellow Nephrology Practitioners and foster an exchange of ideas on how this group of professionals can best support and serve the unique patient population they care for.

10:00 am         Welcome – Amanda Porter, MS, CCLS and Robin Davis, CCLS

10:15 am         A Day in the Life of a Nephrology Child Life Specialist – Judith Ross, CCLS

11:00 am         Child Life and Dialysis Support – Nilu Rahman, MS, CCLS

11:45pm          The Forgotten Child:  Supporting Siblings - Amanda Porter, MS, CCLS

12:30 pm         Discussion

12:45pm          Break

1:30 pm           Preparing and Supporting the Child and Family for a Kidney Transplant -Robin Davis, CCLS

2:15 pm           Recreational Activities and Camp Involvement – Bonnie Ferguson, CCLS

3:00 pm           Interactive Discussion and Networking – Amanda Porter, MS, CCLS and Robin Davis, CCLS

4:00 pm           Adjourn