451. Challenges Child Life Specialist Faculty Face in Supporting Child Life Specialist Candidates Seeking Internships
- Author
-
Deborah Sue Fingerhut
- Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic created challenges for students seeking clinical internships, and faculty have felt those obstacles trying to mentor students. The problem addressed in this study were the challenges child life specialist faculty at a local colleges face in supporting child life specialist candidates in locating internships upon degree completion. The purpose of this study was to understand the obstacles child life specialist faculty face in supporting child life specialist candidates in obtaining internships and what institutional support could be offered to alleviate those obstacles. The significance of this study was the necessity of child life specialist faculty to successfully mentor child life specialist candidates toward obtaining internships. The conceptual framework for this study was based on Kouzes and Posner's model of transformational leadership. Two research questions explored the obstacles child life specialist faculty face in supporting child life specialist candidates in obtaining internships and what institutional support could be offered to alleviate those obstacles. A basic qualitative design was used to interview 10 child life specialist faculty. Data were analyzed for common codes, categories, and themes from participant responses. From the data emerged six themes that provided a framework for the design of the project study. The Faculty Tool Kit is a 3-day workshop to enhance faculty skills and competency in mentoring students. The findings are supported by the transformational leadership model and provide a better understanding of the need for social change in the way child life specialist faculty support child life specialist candidates in their quest for internships. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
- Published
- 2022