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Although the value of research has long since been acknowledged in the child life profession, limited resources exist that prescribe concrete steps for child life leaders to take which promote research in daily work efforts. Whether working on research part-time or full-time, it is important that child life specialists take on research activities as part of their job responsibilities. With options to work fully remote or to have boots on the ground, the impact of a child life research specialist reaches patients and families; professionals and students; the academic, psychosocial, and biomedical scholarly communities; and beyond. Throughout this chapter, readers will obtain justification and inspiration for the proposal of this unique position into their own programs. Further, this chapter will offer concrete tools and suggestions for implementing this role successfully.

To provide the standard of psychosocial care for children with cancer and hematological disorders and their families, multidisciplinary teams must clearly define their scope and collaborate in ways that optimize the quality and efficiency of care. A new organizational structure was leveraged to delineate roles and scope for each psychosocial discipline at our institution. We developed a document, the scope of psychosocial care (SPC), that serves as a platform for making patient care decisions and provides opportunities for the reevaluation of programming. Herein, we present the process and outcome of the SPC and make recommendations for identifying roles in pediatric psychosocial hematology-oncology.

Socialization with peers is essential for development yet reduced when children and adolescents are undergoing cancer treatment. Providing opportunity for social experiences is a key role for providers working in the pediatric oncology setting. Traditional in-person socialization activities were significantly impacted by coronavirus disease-2019 restrictions, and psychosocial providers were forced to adapt their practice. This case series illustrates four unique scenarios that highlight virtual social interactions as both feasible and beneficial. While virtual socialization groups were intended to be temporary, the experiences described suggest that ongoing video-based options for some socialization activities are likely prudent for some pediatric populations.