Child Life Professional Ethics and Boundaries Flashcards
6 cards from real Child Life Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Child Life Professional Ethics and Boundaries flashcards as text
A child life specialist realizes they are becoming emotionally over-invested in a particular patient's case, thinking about the child constantly outside of work. The MOST professional response is to:
Answer: Seek supervision and develop a plan to maintain professional boundaries while ensuring continuity of care
Seeking supervision when boundary issues arise is a professional responsibility. Supervision helps process feelings and develop strategies to maintain therapeutic effectiveness.
A parent asks the child life specialist for their personal cell phone number 'in case they need to reach someone at night.' The specialist should:
Answer: Politely decline and provide appropriate after-hours hospital resources and contact information
Sharing personal contact information blurs professional boundaries. The specialist should redirect to appropriate institutional resources that provide 24/7 support.
A child life specialist is asked by a medical resident to help restrain a child for a blood draw, stating 'We just need to hold the kid down and get it done.' The MOST ethical response is to:
Answer: Advocate for the child by explaining comfort positioning options and requesting a brief pause for coping preparation
Child life specialists have a professional obligation to advocate for the child's psychosocial needs, including recommending alternatives to forceful restraint.
Regarding confidentiality, which situation REQUIRES the child life specialist to share information without parental consent?
Answer: A child discloses that a family member is physically abusing them
Suspected child abuse or neglect is a mandated reporting situation that overrides confidentiality obligations. Healthcare professionals are legally required to report.
The Child Life Code of Ethics addresses the issue of professional competence by requiring child life specialists to:
Answer: Recognize the limits of their competence and seek additional training, supervision, or referral when needed
Professional competence requires self-awareness about one's limitations and a commitment to ongoing professional development, appropriate supervision, and timely referrals.
A child life specialist receives a gift from a grateful family after their child's discharge. According to professional ethics, the BEST approach is to:
Answer: Follow institutional policy on gift acceptance, which typically allows small tokens of appreciation while declining substantial gifts
Most institutions have gift policies that allow accepting small tokens while declining substantial gifts that could create perceived obligations or boundary issues.