- Assess responses to stress; plan, implement and evaluate care accordingly.
- Introduce and facilitate rehearsal of techniques to aid immediate and long term coping, with consideration for the unique needs of the individual and family, such as coping style, previous experience, developmental level, culture, spirituality, family situation, and emotional state.
- Facilitate mastery of potentially stressful experiences.
- Utilize appropriate non-pharmacological pain management strategies.
- Empower and support patients and families to effectively self-advocate as well as advocate on behalf of those who cannot do so.
- Demonstrate an ability to use verbal and non-verbal emphatic responses with children and caregivers during stressful events.
- Implement a team plan for coping support during medical procedures, including parental presence with guidance, comfort positions, role responsibilities, and distraction techniques to help children refocus their attention.
- Facilitate opportunities for play and dialogue following stressful events to reflect upon emotional responses and reinforce coping skills.
- Act as a team participant in bereavement work on behalf of families.
- Assess self-awareness skills concerning stress, trauma response, loss, and grief work in order to practice effective self-reflection.