PSYC 450 Week 6 Site Visit Journal 3 Example

Reviewed by Allison Pemberton, PhD · Liberty University · Updated

A sister's first visit to an intensive care bed is the moment recorded in this PSYC 450 Week 6 example, Site Visit Journal 3 of Liberty University PSYC 450, the last of three 80-point journals in the BS in Psychology course, due with DB Forum 4. The composite student spent the final five of fifteen observation hours in a pediatric intensive care unit. The journal follows a child life specialist as she prepares a nine-year-old to see her twelve-year-old brother, hurt in a bicycle crash, for the first time since the accident, using photographs of the room, a plain explanation of each tube and machine and an agreed signal for leaving early. It connects the visit to an integrative model of pediatric medical traumatic stress that counts siblings and parents among those affected, describes three phases of response and treats most reactions as normal.

CoursePSYC 450 Children in Healthcare (PSYC450)
Module/Week6
AssignmentSite Visit Journal 3
Paper typeSite visit observation journal
Lengthabout 606 words, 2 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: per the course guide, a journal of at least 500 words describing the student's experience during observation hours at a pediatric healthcare site with a psychosocial staff member and any clinical implications from course material observed there, with references in current APA format
FormatAPA 7 student paper
Points80
SchoolLiberty University Online
ProgramBS in Psychology
Where it sitsModule/Week 6 in Liberty's published PSYC 450 course guide; current sections can differ
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for PSYC 450 Week 6

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Site Visit Journal 3: Preparing a Nine-Year-Old to See Her Injured Brother in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

 

[Student Name]

School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University

PSYC 450: Children in Healthcare

Site Visit Journal 3

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

 

The site, the staff, the family and the events are composites standing in for the student's own observation hours; the textbook, the Child Life Council documents and the published model are real; the requirements follow Liberty's public course guide for PSYC 450.

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Site Visit Journal 3: Preparing a Nine-Year-Old to See Her Injured Brother in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Setting and Hours

Why this part earns its pointsStating that the hours are complete frames this entry as both an observation and a look back.
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My final five observation hours, completed over two evenings, brought my total to fifteen. I spent them in the pediatric intensive care unit of the same children's hospital, shadowing a child life specialist I will call Ms. Carla, who divides her time between the PICU and the emergency department. The unit is quieter than I expected, with soft alarms, dimmed lights and parents sleeping in recliners beside beds.

Preparing a Sister to Visit

Why this part earns its pointsNarrating the preparation step by step shows the sequence that makes a frightening visit manageable.
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A twelve-year-old I will call Andrew had been admitted two days earlier after a bicycle crash, with a head injury and a broken leg. He was breathing on his own but sedated and connected to several monitors. His nine-year-old sister, Mia, had not seen him since the accident and had been staying with her aunt. Her parents asked whether she should visit.

Ms. Carla met the parents first and asked what Mia knew and how she usually handled scary news. Then she met Mia in a family room down the hall with a photo binder. She showed pictures of a PICU room, explaining each object in simple terms: the monitor "shows the nurses Andrew's heartbeat with lines and numbers," the IV "gives him medicine and water through a tiny tube," and the cast "keeps his leg still so it can heal." She told Mia that Andrew might have bruises and might not answer her, because medicine was helping him rest. Mia asked whether Andrew would die. Ms. Carla said the doctors were taking very good care of him and that his parents would tell her if anything changed. They agreed on a signal: if Mia squeezed Ms. Carla's hand twice, they would step out.

At the bedside, Mia stood still for a long moment, then reached for Andrew's hand and told him she had fed his fish. She stayed about ten minutes and left a card she had made in the family room. On the way out she asked whether she could come back the next day and bring the fish food to show him, and Ms. Carla said they would ask the nurse together.

Connections to Course Material

Why this part earns its pointsPlacing the sibling inside a family model of traumatic stress explains why the team spent an hour on someone who was not the patient.
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Rollins et al. (2018) describe how children's understanding of serious illness develops and why siblings, often overlooked, can experience fear, guilt and confusion. Mia's question about death fit a school-age child who is beginning to understand that death is permanent. Kazak et al. (2006) presented an integrative model of pediatric medical traumatic stress with three phases: peritrauma, the period around the event; early, ongoing and evolving responses; and longer-term traumatic stress. They emphasized that a range of reactions is normal, that preexisting well-being matters and that intervention should address the whole family within its social ecology. Ms. Carla's preparation was an early intervention for a family member in the first phase. The Child Life Council (2011) identifies support for siblings and families as part of the profession's role, and this visit showed what that looks like.

Ms. Carla also checked in with the parents afterward, telling them what Mia had said and suggesting signs to watch for at home, such as trouble sleeping or new fears. The mother cried briefly and said she had been so focused on Andrew that she had barely spoken to her daughter in two days. Ms. Carla reassured her that this was common and offered to arrange a sibling support session later in the week.

Reflection on Fifteen Hours

Across three units, I saw the same skill again and again: specialists who slowed down, used concrete language and gave children a role. I want to develop that patience. I also learned how much child life work happens with family members, not only patients. These hours have confirmed my interest in pursuing certification.

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References

Child Life Council. (2011). The official documents of the Child Life Council.

Kazak, A. E., Kassam-Adams, N., Schneider, S., Zelikovsky, N., Alderfer, M. A., & Rourke, M. (2006). An integrative model of pediatric medical traumatic stress. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 31(4), 343-355. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsj054

Rollins, J. H., Bolig, R., & Mahan, C. C. (Eds.). (2018). Meeting children's psychosocial needs across the health-care continuum (2nd ed.). PRO-ED.

What the PSYC 450 Week 6 instructions ask

Module/Week 6 of PSYC 450 closes the site visit sequence with this 80-point journal, due alongside the 30-point DB Forum 4 once the module's chapters, presentations and website are complete. The bar is the one set for Journals 1 and 2. Five hundred words is the minimum, the entry recounts what happened during the hours with the psychosocial staff member, it spells out what course material looked like in practice and any sources follow current APA style. By the third journal, students have completed all 15 hours, so the entry can also look back on what the experience as a whole has taught and where the student hopes to go next.

How this PSYC 450 Week 6 example is built

The journal opens with the unit and the completion of the fifteen hours. It then narrates the sibling preparation: the specialist's conversation with the parents, the photographs shown in a quiet family room, the girl's questions and the visit itself, including the moment she held her brother's hand. A section links the observation to course material on families and on children's understanding of serious illness, and to Kazak and colleagues' model of pediatric medical traumatic stress, which places siblings within the family's response. A short paragraph notes how the team supported the parents, including a mother who realized she had barely spoken to her daughter. The journal closes with a reflection on all fifteen hours and on the student's career goals.

PSYC 450 Week 6 grading rubric: where the points go

The last journal is graded on a detailed account of the visit, accurate ties to course concepts, plainly stated clinical implications and a length past the 500-word floor with correctly formatted sources. Because it is the last journal, strong entries also reflect on the full fifteen hours, showing what the student learned across visits. Faculty value attention to the whole family, including siblings, and sensitivity in describing serious injury or illness. Confidentiality and professional language remain essential. Reflections that connect the experience to the student's own goals, honestly and specifically, show the growth the site visit is designed to produce over a semester.

PSYC 450 Week 6 help: mistakes that cost points

Intensive care units can be overwhelming for observers as well as families, so give yourself time after a shift before writing. Describe the specialist's preparation in steps, since sibling preparation follows a clear sequence. Explain why siblings need support, using the textbook and a model or study. Avoid graphic medical detail; describe equipment the way a specialist would to a child. In the closing reflection, look back across all three journals and name one skill you saw repeatedly and one you want to develop. If you used the alternative assignment instead of site hours, follow the instructor's directions for that version, which replace the observation narrative.

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PSYC 450 Week 6 questions, answered

What is PSYC 450 Site Visit Journal 3?

The third and final 80-point site visit journal, due in Module/Week 6, of at least 500 words describing the last observation hours and reflecting on the full 15-hour experience.

Where can I find a free PSYC 450 Week 6 sample paper?

A complete PSYC 450 Week 6 journal in which a child life specialist readies a nine-year-old to visit her injured brother in intensive care, tied to course concepts and a stress model, is on this page.

Why do siblings of hospitalized children need support?

Siblings often face fear, confusion and disrupted routines while parents' attention is focused on the patient, and models of pediatric medical traumatic stress include them among the family members affected.

What is pediatric medical traumatic stress?

Psychological and physical responses of children and families to pain, injury, serious illness and frightening medical experiences, which Kazak and colleagues describe in three phases from the event itself to longer-term responses.

What else is due in PSYC 450 Module/Week 6?

DB Forum 4, a 30-point discussion answered with a thread and two short replies to classmates, the second-to-last forum before the course's final presentation week.

Use it as a model, or ask for your own

This paper is an original model written by our desk for study. It is not a submitted student paper and not an official Liberty University document. Read it for structure and reasoning, then write your own to the instructions in your Canvas course. If you want a version built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

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