About our Program
A child life practicum is an invaluable pre-internship experience intended as an introduction to the field and to prepare students for a future child life internship. The goal of the child life pre-internship experience is to provide first-hand experience and education in connecting developmental theorist to clinical experience, primarily through observation. Throughout the pre-internship experience, students will be exposed to the role of child life in the pediatric healthcare setting, as well as medical terminology, childhood illnesses, injury, and treatment.
The child life pre-internship experience at Denver Health offers students the opportunity to learn and observe within the pediatric inpatient unit, the pediatric intensive care unit, the pediatric emergency department, peri-operative services and the pediatric outpatient clinics. Under the supervision of Certified Child Life Specialists, students will get the opportunity to observe different types of interventions and will be facilitating various activities at the bedside and in the playrooms. Students are also asked to complete weekly assignments and receive feedback and guidance about their experiences. Students must complete a minimum of 150 hours within a 14-week semester. We currently accept pre-internship experience students in the fall and spring semesters.
Please note that our child life pre-internship program currently accepts unaffiliated students.
If you are not pursuing a child life certification and are looking for a general hospital practicum experience, please do not reach out as we simply are not the right program for you.
Application Requirements
All of the following will be typed and combined into one PDF file and emailed to childlife@dhha.org in the order listed below. If sent in other formats, your application is at risk for not being accepted.
- In 50 words or less, utilizing child life language, what is child life?
- In 200 words or less, why are you interested in pursuing this pre-internship experience specifically at Denver Health?
- Fill out all 4 goals with 2 connecting objectives that correlate to the subject matter provided:
i. Example- Goal: Pass the Child Life exam on the first attempt within the next four months.
- Objective 1: Study at least 15 hours per week using a structured child life review course, completing all practice questions and mock exams by the end of the month.
- Objective 2: Join a study group by the end of this week to review challenging topics and stay accountable through weekly group sessions.
- Subject Matter: Multi-disciplinary team
- Goal 1:
- Objective
- Objective
- Goal 1:
- Subject Matter: Family-Centered Care
- Goal 2:
- Objective
- Objective
- Goal 2:
- Subject Matter: Rapport building with patients
- Goal 3:
- Objective
- Objective
- Goal 3:
- Subject Matter: Developmental theory/theorists
- Goal 4:
- Objective
- Objective
- Goal 4:
- Subject Matter: Multi-disciplinary team
- Goal: Pass the Child Life exam on the first attempt within the next four months.
- Please provide information regarding all applicable previous work/volunteer experiences with children in the following chart format:
Name and Location of Institution | Type of Facility | Dates | Total Hours Worked | Position/Title | Age Group | Type of Population | Brief Description of Responsibilities |
Denver Health - Denver, CO | Hospital | March 2020 – Current | Total:256 hours | Volunteer | Birth – 19yo | Hospitalized | Provide developmentally appropriate activities and normative items to patients and their families at bedside and in the playroom |
- A current resume and two letters of recommendations; one familiar with your work with children/families.
2026 Child Life Pre-Internship Experience at Denver Health
Timeline and Schedule
Students spend three days per week in the hospital, Tuesday through Thursday – two clinical days and one educational/supervision day each week – for 13 weeks, totaling a minimum of 150 hours. The full practicum spans 14 weeks to include one week of onboarding and orientation prior to clinical work.
Spring 2026
Date: January 26, 2026 – May 2, 2026
Application Deadline: September 26, 2025
Offer Date: October 24, 2025
Fall 2026
Date: September 14, 2026 – December 19, 2026
Application Deadline: May 8, 2026
Offer Date: June 5, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions:
No.
Yes. A meal voucher will be provided with each shift worked.
No. There is no requirement to be affiliated with a college or university. A pre-internship experience at Denver Health aligns with the ACLP’s guided modules and knowledge, skills, and abilities, to best prepare the student for a child life internship.
Our student committee reviews all applications and follows a comprehensive rating system evaluating the written questionnaire, resume, and letters of recommendation to ensure all applications are given an equal opportunity. After the applications are reviewed, students are contacted by e-mail to either decline their application or offer an interview. After the interview process, the committee discusses the applicants again and decides who will be offered placement in our student program for the term. Applicants are then contacted on whether they are accepted for the program.
Our student coordinator will contact all applicants by e-mail to offer a virtual, video-conference interview.
Our student coordinator will contact all applicants by e-mail to offer or decline admission to our program.
No. The units listed above include areas the child life team serves at Denver Health, however, does not guarantee a rotation within all units.
No, this is an unpaid experience.
