Providing knowledge – and normalcy: Inside Geisinger’s Child Life Services

Meet the teacher helping kids learn during hospital stays

All teachers face challenges, like getting students excited to learn and keeping their attention during lessons.

For teacher Sherry Musser, who works with the Child Life Services team at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, some of those issues are compounded. And she faces unique obstacles to educating her pupils, who are pediatric inpatients.

Ms. Musser works one-on-one with kids to keep them from falling behind in school due to treatment for conditions including serious infections, cancer and behavioral health issues.

Along with adapting to each student’s age, grade, circumstances and school curriculum, Ms. Musser’s “class” is always in transition. Depending on why a child is hospitalized, she may work with them for just a few days — or off and on over the course of years. The children and families she meets are often under extreme stress. And there may be physical restrictions to learning, ranging from the need to be quiet in the hospital to infection protocols.

But Ms. Musser, who’s taught for 24 years in traditional classrooms and with special education, autism support and life skills programs, says her work is also rewarding.

“I really get to build relationships and learn a lot about the students,” she says. “And on any day, I can be teaching kindergarten reading and math or helping a student with algebra. I just love that variety.”

Teacher and students, adapting together

Any student admitted to the hospital for more than 2 school days is eligible for educational support from Ms. Musser, who’s employed by the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, with some funding from the state and Geisinger Health Foundation.

Some students are determined to keep up with their studies. But others need more encouragement and guidance, Ms. Musser says.

“I’ve had to work really hard to build a relationship with some students before we were able to do any schoolwork,” she says. She’s even dressed up as kid-lit characters, like Clifford the Big Red Dog, to encourage reading. “I try my very best to make things as fun as possible, rather than just completing worksheets.”

Obviously, just feeling lousy is a big obstacle to learning for many students. In those cases, she modifies her lessons to give them a hand. “Sometimes I’ll say, ‘You do this part, and I’ll do this part.’ Or I’ll even scribe for them and just note on the paper that I did that.”

Gaining trust to reach goals

Helping a student reach a goal — or even set one — makes the job especially gratifying. In one case, Ms. Musser worked hard to encourage a young patient undergoing dialysis for several years to continue her education when she was ready to give up.

The first step: building a rapport based on the girl’s love of animals. “I just sat with her and showed her pictures of my dog,” Ms. Musser says. From there, they found more common ground and eventually worked together 3 days a week. Much to the family’s delight, the patient went from planning to drop out to graduating high school.

“We really got to be close,” Ms. Musser says. “I went to her graduation party.”

And when another student was admitted for cancer treatment, Ms. Musser found a place for her to practice her musical instrument without disturbing other patients. She also got permission for a student facing a long recovery from a fracture to have school sessions outside on the Geisinger Medical Center campus, in the sunshine and fresh air.

“It’s a unique program,” she says. “It allows me to reduce the kiddos’ stress and help them feel a sense of normalcy. Every day is challenging but truly rewarding.”