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Any operation in a hospital can be scary, but for children, it can be filled with a lot of unknowns. That’s where a child life specialist enters.

From turning IVs into squirt guns, singing the steps of a procedure, and being a friendly face for kids prepping for surgery, it’s child life specialists like Melissa Haun that make it happen.

“We collaborate with a team. We are one of many.” Haun said. “I like to think of it like a puzzle— like one piece of a kid’s puzzle at the hospital.”

Their job is to be a glue for families; connecting dots from before surgery to after recovery. 

Haun has been working with children for 12 years. 10 of those years have been with 

Children's Minnesota hospital in Minneapolis

. She always knew she wanted to work with children but didn’t want to be restricted to a single age group. It wasn’t until a friend had suggested a career in child life, that she began path to the medical world.

“I never heard about [it] before, and it was just clear as a day that that's what I wanted to do,” Haun said. 

And while the work is difficult, seeing both children and parents have easier hospital stays, makes it worth it.

This conversation is a part of our Job Interview series, where we talk to everyday Minnesotans about the rewards and challenges of their work. This interview has been lightly edited for style and clarity. Click on the audio player for the original, radio version.

I help children cope through their hospital stays.

They were one-years-old and it happened to be a dog bite. The parents said their experience was very distressing, and they were just really scared that they were gonna have the same experience. 

I used music to teach the steps of the actual procedure. So when it was time to do— we call them string Band Aids instead of stitches, I said “Touch tickle tie. Touch tickle tie.” And that kiddo was actually saying “Touch, tickle tie,” his own way, while getting sutures. Parents couldn't have been happier.

Not being in control of time. I think there are times when you miss things because you just weren't aware. And I would love to be able to just freeze time to get it all done. Always wanting to achieve more support to families, but knowing that at the end of the day you made a difference is what I focus on.

It doesn't really matter what plan you had going in the room. The kiddo is going to create the plan with you in reality. And just being really open to growing with them.

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Lukas Levin

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Any hospital stay can be filled with uncertainty, but for kids it can be particularly anxiety inducing. Child life specialist Melissa Haun works to demystify the world of medicine and help parents and children feel at home. 

Job Interview: Hospital specialist helps children have fun during medical stays

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