BRAVE BOTS BRING COURAGE TO KIDS IN PORTLAND HOSPITALS
An interview with Molly M. – a Certified Child Life Specialist who uses Brave Bots with young patients in Portland Children’s Hospitals
Q: Tell us a little bit about what a Certified Child Life Specialist is.
A Certified Child Life Specialist is someone who provides psychosocial support to pediatric patients and families, most often in the hospital setting. The goal of services is to minimize trauma and facilitate coping. Child Life Specialists provide services such as: procedural preparation, procedural support, medical play, normalizing and therapeutic activities, sibling support, patient advocacy, bereavement support, and more. Child Life Specialists also provide child development education to medical staff to assist the interdisciplinary team with meeting the developmental needs of 0-18yrs. Child Life Specialists are certified through the Association of Child Life Professionals.
Q: How did you discover Botjoy?
When I began working in the hospital setting in Portland, OR, a colleague introduced me to Brave Bots. This was a tool that my team used to support pediatric patients in a variety of ways. I have now been using this tool ever since!
Q: How do you use Bots at the hospital?
I use Brave Bots in so many ways! I use them to build rapport with patients, to facilitate making a coping plan before a procedure (such as a poke or surgery), to facilitate coping with anxiety or fears, to facilitate sleeping at night, and so much more. They even have served as a tool to promote continuing sibling bonds when patients and siblings are separated during hospitalization; they find so much comfort in having a brave bot like their sibling has.
Q: Can you tell us any stories of how the Bots have helped patients?
There are countless stories that I could tell, but I will provide one that speaks to many benefits. A young patient was struggling with daily pokes to check his sodium levels. He had already endured so much trauma, and these pokes made it difficult for him to manage his anxiety with hospitalization. Together, we created a coping kit full of various sensory items to promote relaxation and tension release. Of all of the items in his kit, he always chose the brave bot. He would hold it in his hand during the poke, and whisper all of his worries to his brave bot. One time, after his poke, he told me, "My brave bot is a hard worker. He helps me with something every day!" Not only was his brave bot able to minimize the anxiety this patient was experiencing regularly, but it was able to promote deep breathing as the patient "blew away his worries" into his brave bot. During his stay, he kept it under his pillow every night to help him sleep. He found a best friend in such a small object, one that paved the way for many more positive hospital experiences.
