Marne Perrin

My journey in child life has been an adventure leading me across the country to work in different areas, with different populations, and in different healthcare dynamics. After completing my undergraduate degree in Texas, my practicum at St. Louis Children's, and internship at Cincinnati Childrens, my first child life role was at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, followed by my current role at Mayo Clinic Children's Center.

Over the course of my 8 years being a certified child life specialist, working both inpatient and outpatient, I have found my passion in working with chronic populations and integrating into interdisciplinary teams. Both require relationship-building over time, keeping the end goal and plan of care in mind during every interaction, and learning from each other to develop a truly therapeutic relationship. Being a part of this process, and seeing the gains in positive coping and psychosocial care for patients and their families, motivates me every day to work harder for their benefit.

My second passion has revolved around students and helping them to successfully navigate and grow throughout their own child life journey. After mentoring students both informally and formally through practicum and internship supervision, I was motivated to obtain my master's degree while still working full-time, in order to be able to teach academically as well. Seeing students' light bulb moments and the magic of concepts finally connecting, brings me even more joy knowing this results in students' own passion for the field and goals of better serving patients and families in the future.

Courses:

CPSY 5604: Therapeutic Relationships: Supporting Children in Healthcare