Nina Friedman, MS, CCLS
Nina Friedman is a Certified Child Life Specialist at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in the Pediatric Emergency Department. She graduated cum laude from Goucher College in 2011 with a B.A. in Sociology and was a member of the International Sociology Honor Society. Nina began her career at the Ronald McDonald House of New York City where she provided psychosocial emotional support to pediatric oncology patients and their families. While working towards her Master's, she was a Child Life Assistant at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In 2016, she obtained a Master's of Science degree in Child Life at BankStreet College of Education. Nina's Thesis, Providing Pediatric Patients with a Voice: Understanding How Children Want to Live Before They Die, explores quality of life for chronically-ill pediatric patients. Specifically, how child life specialists can help the patient, family, and medical teams navigate treatment options and decisions regarding end-of-life. Nina has worked as a Child Life Specialist in the Pediatric Emergency Department for five years. In addition to her work in the Emergency Department, she volunteers with the Young Center where she is a Guardian ad Litem to advocate for best interests, safety and wellbeing of individual unaccompanied immigrant children. Nina also works with the children of critically-ill adult patients as part of a Child Life Adult Referral Team. During the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic, she worked to connect children to their parents in the hospital and supported the family as a unit. Nina considers her work during the Covid-19 Pandemic to be the most meaningful work she has done to date.
Area of Interest: Pediatric Psychiatric Crisis Care