Child Life Exam Child Life Cultural Competency and Diversity 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: How should a child life specialist approach a family that uses traditional healing practices alongside Western medicine?
- Discourage traditional practices as potentially harmful
- Respect the practices and collaborate with the medical team to integrate them safely where possible (Correct answer)
- Report the practices to the hospital ethics committee immediately
- Ignore the practices and focus only on medical interventions
Correct answer: Respect the practices and collaborate with the medical team to integrate them safely where possible
Child life specialists should respect families' traditional healing practices and work collaboratively with the medical team to integrate them safely into care.
Question 2: Which term describes the ongoing process of self-reflection regarding one's own cultural assumptions and biases in healthcare?
- Cultural assimilation
- Cultural humility (Correct answer)
- Cultural imposition
- Cultural diffusion
Correct answer: Cultural humility
Cultural humility is an ongoing process of self-reflection and learning that challenges practitioners to examine their own biases and assumptions.
Question 3: A family declines a child life specialist's offer of play therapy, citing cultural reasons. The specialist should:
- Insist that play therapy is evidence-based and the child needs it
- Respect the family's decision and offer alternative forms of psychosocial support (Correct answer)
- Document non-compliance and escalate to the social worker
- Remove the family from the caseload permanently
Correct answer: Respect the family's decision and offer alternative forms of psychosocial support
Respecting family autonomy is central to child life practice; the specialist should offer alternative support options that align with the family's values.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes 'cultural imposition' in child life practice?
- Providing culturally appropriate materials to patients
- Forcing one's own cultural beliefs on patients and families during care (Correct answer)
- Asking families about their cultural preferences
- Using community health workers for outreach
Correct answer: Forcing one's own cultural beliefs on patients and families during care
Cultural imposition occurs when a provider forces their own cultural beliefs or practices onto patients, which is ethically inappropriate in child life work.
Question 5: When preparing a child for a procedure, how should cultural considerations influence the specialist's approach?
- Use the same standardized script for all children
- Adapt the preparation based on the child's developmental level and cultural context (Correct answer)
- Focus solely on medical information and omit emotional support
- Limit preparation to a written handout
Correct answer: Adapt the preparation based on the child's developmental level and cultural context
Effective preparation integrates both developmental level and cultural context to ensure the child and family feel understood and supported.
Question 6: A child life specialist working with a diverse patient population should regularly:
- Apply a single culturally neutral approach to all families
- Engage in continuing education and self-reflection to strengthen cultural awareness (Correct answer)
- Avoid discussing culture to prevent misunderstandings
- Rely solely on the social worker for culturally sensitive care
Correct answer: Engage in continuing education and self-reflection to strengthen cultural awareness
Ongoing education and self-reflection are essential for child life specialists to maintain and grow their cultural awareness and competency.
Child Life Exam Child Life Cultural Competency and Diversity 2
How should a child life specialist approach a family that uses traditional healing practices alongside Western medicine?