Care Beyond Medicine: The Compassion and Care of a Child Life Specialist

A child life specialist can make all the difference for a child and their family during a hospital visit when they are often faced with fear, uncertainty and challenging situations.

This Child Life Month, we’re proud to spotlight Shelby Skipper, UF Health’s dedicated Child Life Specialist, who helps turn overwhelming moments into ones filled with comfort, confidence and even a little joy. Through play, education and compassionate support, Shelby empowers children and families to better understand what’s happening and feel less alone during some of their most challenging days.

Her care goes beyond medicine and creates a lasting impact on children and their families when they need the care most.

How long have you been a child life specialist?

I’ve been a child life specialist for four years. I started with UF Health Jacksonville in September 2025.

What inspired you to pursue this career?

I wanted to do something with my life that allows me to walk alongside people through tough times. There’s something meaningful to me about walking into a stressful situation with a child and their family and being able to help lighten the load of the situation.

Explain the impact of what you do and why it’s important to families and children

I use my knowledge and expertise of child development and family systems to understand how hospitalization and trauma can affect children and their families. The hospital can be a frightening and scary place for kids and their families. According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 80 percent of children experience traumatic stress during or following a hospitalization caused by a serious injury or illness. My job as a Child Life Specialist is to help mitigate that.

I come in and to assess a child's coping and provide an opportunity for play or expression to help relieve some of that stress. My goal is to normalize the hospital environment and provide education to help children understand their plan of care and what's going on with their bodies.

Giving them this information helps them feel more in control and hopefully makes the hospital feel less traumatic in a situation where they likely have very limited control.

Describe some of your daily responsibilities

Every day looks completely different. I provide family support. That can be parental support to parents who have kids in the hospital and may need help expressing their emotions. I work with children of adult patients in our adult ICUs- If a child is visiting a parent in the hospital and needs help understanding or processing an illness of their loved one, that's where I come in. I also help facilitate a child's opportunity to say goodbye at end of life and provide memory making items for a child to have of their loved even after they have passed. I am also responsible for managing all of the child life department's resources.

I will also provide preparation and education for procedures, surgeries, or different diagnoses and provide coping skills on how to get through those things.

Therapeutic play is also a big part of my job. However, the child plays, I play. I watch and let them lead. It can be acting out trauma and helping process that, or structured play where I may ask specific questions to see how they are processing the traumatic event. Sometimes it’s simple play, for example coloring because that feels familiar and is calming to the child.

What aspects of your work are rewarding?

The most rewarding aspect is being able to build relationships with the kids and families. I’m honored to be in a sacred space during difficult times.

Explain how you collaborate with other healthcare professionals to support the well-being of the children

I work with the nursing staff and doctors to learn about each of my patients' plans of care. They let me know how child life services may be appropriate based off of their assessment and time spent with the patient. I also collaborate with the case management team to make sure that the patient and their family are receiving the best possible care and emotional support.

Explain the importance of building trust with families and children during stressful and difficult situations

It can be scary as a child to be taken out of your routine and come into something unfamiliar. It can be hard to trust the person trying to provide you with help. I tell the kids I work with, no surprises, meaning I walk them through, step-by-step, of everything that will happen to them so that they are more at ease. Especially with younger kids, I walk in with a toy to help break the ice and let them know I’m here to help provide support.

Building trust helps improve the overall patient experience and patient satisfaction. It helps to provide a positive medical experience. It also helps reduce the traumatic or adverse experiences in the medical environment if a child feels like they can trust their care team.

What’s a valuable lesson you’ve learned from the work you do with children?

Life is short, be grateful for everything I have. Life can change in an instant. Tell the people in your life that you love them. The little things matter. Sometimes families just need me to listen. One act of kindness can change the course of their stay for the better.