Characterizing engagement and burnout among Certified Child Life Specialists: a mixed methods study

ABSTRACT

Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) are healthcare professionals susceptible to burnout given the psychosocial nature of their role. Job engagement and motivation are highly related to burnout in many populations, yet few have explored this relationship among CCLS. Therefore, this convergent, mixed-methods study described engagement, motivation, and burnout among CCLS. A sample of 117 CCLS completed an online demographic survey and validated measures of job engagement and burnout; thirty participants completed a semi-structured follow-up interview about their experiences. Overall, participants were emotionally engaged in their work and planned to remain working as a CCLS. Helping patients and families was identified as an important engagement factor; however, participants also reported moderate levels of burnout as emotional exhaustion. Feelings of burnout were related to low compensation, lack of respect from colleagues, and ineffective leadership. CCLS participants noted motivation to stay in the profession was related to supportive leadership that provided resources and opportunities to cultivate and recognize individual strengths. These findings provide guidance on the type of supports and resources CCLS need to remain engaged and motivated in their work, including skilled and knowledgeable leaders, recognition for their role in patient care, professional growth opportunities, and increased compensation.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the CCLS who participated in the study. In addition, the authors are thankful for members of the Children’s Healthcare Illness Legacy and Loss Lab at Vanderbilt Univeristy and the University of Alabama and the Child Life and Child Development Lab at Vanderbilt Univeristy and the University of Alabama who assisted in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The research was not funded by a funding agency, in the public commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.