ABSTRACT
This article discusses the steep learning curve in planning and facilitating opportunities for virtual play during the COVID-19 Pandemic within the medical setting, and describes how many rich learning opportunities were produced and were ultimately transformative in the perceptions of the possibilities for play. During the spring of 2020, fifty students enrolled in the Child Life Specialist (CLS) minor program at Bloomsburg University (BU) were preparing to participate in a 120-hour experiential learning course that allowed for the application of evidence-based child life theory to practice. By mid-March of 2020 COVID-19 had spread throughout the country causing a nationwide lockdown. Soon thereafter, Camp Victory canceled its 2020 camps, and BU followed suit canceling international travel and therefore our trip to GOSH. Based upon these world events, our inclination was to cancel the summer 2020 child life practicum. But after a brainstorming session involving BU tutors, the leadership team at Camp Victory, and the Head of Play Services at GOSH, we decided to offer the child life practicum virtually. Transitioning from a face-to-face to a virtual practicum experience was simplified due in part to the Bloomsburg Online Learning and Teaching (BOLT) Management System which provided access to Zoom, discussion boards, and various assessment tools. These features allowed us to run the practicum as an asynchronous/synchronous online class. The major challenge of offering the practicum virtually was providing BU students contact hours with the campers, patients, and families across the Camp Victory and GOSH settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)