Shaindy Alexander

Shaindy Alexander has been at SickKids for 22 years practicing as a Certified Child Life Specialist. Recently she took on the leadership role as clinical manager for Child Life. During her professional career she has haematology/oncology, burns and plastic surgery, and critical care. She is passionate about supporting youth and families and advocating for them to be included and supported through their illness journey.

Longer Bio:

Shaindy Alexander is a certified child life specialist and Mana ger of the Child Life Department at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, Canada. 

Before this role, she helped to develop and deliver quality child life care within palliative care, haematology/oncology, burns and plastic surgery, and critical care. She is an advocacte working to ensure every child living with and around serious illness, hospitalization, death, dying, and grief, has access to psychosocial support. Through this work Shaindy has helped to develop and pioneer new roles within the hospital and community.

Shaindy completed her degrees at McMaster University, including an undergraduate degree in Psychology, a diploma in Child Life, and her master’s degree in Child Life and Pediatric Psychosocial Care.

Another area of focus for Shaindy is supporting youth in their grief journey. She works at Gilda’s club as a grief group facilitator and volunteers at Camp Erin, in a clinical leadership role. 

Internationally, Shaindy has worked to share her knowledge and expertise travelling to China to help develop and train healthcare professionals in delivering developmentally supportive care for children undergoing cardiac surgery, as well as to India with Operation Smile as a child life volunteer. 

Shaindy has published research exploring the views of chronically ill paediatric patients on medical errors ("Everyone Makes Mistakes". Children’s Views on Medical Errors and Disclosures, 2019) and the unique considerations in providing care to patients requiring mechanical ventilation (Special Considerations in the Nursing Care of Mechanically Ventilated Children, 2016). Currently Shaindy is exploring the use of Virtual Reality Social Support for adolescents living with serious illness.

Along with her passion for clinical work and research, Shaindy enjoys empowering others through education by sharing knowledge through workshops, presentations, podcasts, and teaching.

Most importantly Shaindy is playful. It is not uncommon to find Shaindy and her googly eyed hand puppet ‘Hermin’ engaging in silly moments with patients or helping answer kids questions on a hospital TV segment called Ask Hermin.