The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Nurse Residency will start March 8, 2021. This program is tailored to fit the educational needs of both new nurse graduates and experienced nurses coming from other specialties.
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is a 50 bed unit. This unit serves as a regional referral center and is a designated Level I Trauma Center for comprehensive care to pediatric patients and their families. The PICU Patient Care Management Team coordinates interdisciplinary patient assessment and patient care and provided by pediatric intensivists and specialty nurses in conjunction with multiple specialty services within the Medical Center. Patients are admitted to the PICU from the ED, Trauma Services, the Operating Room, and transfers from in-house units as well as transports from other institutions via the Pediatric Transport team.
Trauma patients comprise about 10%-15% of patients in the PICU. These patients often have multiple injuries or severe head trauma. The PICU is also a Pediatric Burn Center and receives referrals from the region. Other complex patients requiring general surgery, ENT, craniofacial, neurosurgical and other surgical subspecialties are also cared for in the PICU. Medical patients comprise 50%-60% of patients and include children with respiratory failure, meningitis or seizures, sepsis, multi-system organ failure and chronically ill children. Children with cancer also require PICU care for complications that develop as part of the underlying disease, chemotherapy or following bone marrow transplantation. Services are provided daily, 24 hours per day.
The 12-month Pediatric Nurse Residency Program, also known as our Transition to Practice Program (TPP), is designed to provide the nurse resident with an opportunity to transition into the role of a professional nurse under the guidance and support of our clinical nursing staff, nurse educators and program facilitators.
The program includes a Human Resources orientation, a Unit-Based orientation, and acute and critical care tracks.
The acute and critical care tracks include curricula designed to augment the learning experience for the nurse resident through professional development and to achieve the overall goals of the program. The acute care track includes nurse residents from inpatient acute care, radiology, psychiatry and peri-operative services. The critical care track includes nurse residents from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department (at Sheikh Zayed Campus and United Medical Center).
Children's National Hospital, based in Washington, DC, celebrates 150 years of pediatric care, research and commitment to community. Volunteers opened the hospital in 1870 with 12 beds for children displaced after the Civil War. Today, 150 years stronger, it is among the nation's top 10 children's hospitals. It is ranked No. 1 for newborn care for the fourth straight year and ranked in all specialties evaluated by U.S. News & World Report. Children's National is transforming pediatric medicine for all children. In 2020, construction will be complete on the Children's National Research & Innovation Campus, the first in the nation dedicated to pediatric research. Children's National has been designated twice as a Magnet® hospital, demonstrating the highest standards of nursing and patient care delivery. This pediatric academic health system offers expert care through a convenient, community-based primary care network and specialty outpatient centers in the D.C., metropolitan area, including the Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs. Children's National is home to the Children's National Research Institute and Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and is the nation's seventh-highest NIH-funded children’s hospital. It is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care, and as a strong voice for children through advocacy at the local, regional and national levels.
Minimum Education
Bachelor's Degree
Minimum Work Experience
New grads and experienced nurses welcome!
Required Skills/Knowledge
The licensed Registered Nurse will successfully complete the hospital and nursing orientation at Children’s National.
Identify resources and know when to ask for assistance.
Demonstrated leadership and management skills.
Identify self learning needs and seek resources to meet those needs.
Required Licenses and Certifications
Registered Nurse in District of Columbia Registered Nurse licensed in the District of Columbia, Maryland or Virginia dependent upon location of practice. Req
Functional Accountabilities
Transformational Leadership
1. Contribute to MagnetTM re-designation as evidenced by timely annual completion of professional profile and participation in relevant councils, committees, task forces and/or community outreach.
2. Demonstrate critical thinking skills as evidenced by successful completion of change project.
3. Recognize need to escalate patient care issues via chain of command.
4. Utilize the currently identified process to ensure accurate hand off.
5. Demonstrate ability to work cohesively with ancillary staff to meet patient care needs.
6. Cooperate in the implementation of change and support management decisions.
7. Demonstrate empathy , concern and a desire to be helpful to others.
Structural Empowerment
1. Complete all mandatory education and regulatory requirements and participates in professional activities to enhance nursing practice.
2. Participate in performance appraisal and peer review.
3. Support department goals for formal education, national certification, national safety standards and service excellence.
4. Work in a collaborative manner with all members of the healthcare team and is viewed positively by coworkers.
Exemplary Professional Practice
1. Gather physical and psychosocial data on patient and family and complete accurate and timely patient assessment.
2. Demonstrate clinical skills necessary to care for assigned patients.
3. Develop assessment, organizational and prioritization skills necessary to care for patients whose clinical needs change throughout the shift.
4. Complete documentation in accordance with policies and procedures.
5. Continually assess and plan proactively for educational needs throughout hospital/clinic stay and before time of discharge.
6. Organize care to complete assignment on time.
7. Demonstrate caring in all encounters with patient and family as evidenced by feedback from parents and an increase in patient satisfaction scores.
Safety
1. Speak up when team members appear to exhibit unsafe behavior or performance
2. Continuously validate and verify information needed for decision making or documentation
3. Stop in the face of uncertainty and takes time to resolve the situation
4. Demonstrate accurate, clear and timely verbal and written communication
5. Actively promote safety for patients, families, visitors and co-workers
6. Attend carefully to important details - practicing Stop, Think, Act and Review in order to self-check behavior and performanc
Organizational Accountabilities
New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements
1. Participate in efforts to optimize unit and hospital operations through quality improvement (rounding, handwashing etc.).
2. Maintain awareness of changes or new information related to specialty area.
Organizational Commitment/Identification
1. Partner in the mission and upholds the core principles of the organization
2. Committed to diversity and recognizes value of cultural ethnic differences
3. Demonstrate personal and professional integrity
4. Maintain confidentiality at all times
Customer Service
1. Anticipate and responds to customer needs; follows up until needs are met
Teamwork/Communication
1. Demonstrate collaborative and respectful behavior
2. Partner with all team members to achieve goals
3. Receptive to others’ ideas and opinions
Performance Improvement/Problem-solving
1. Contribute to a positive work environment
2. Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to change
3. Identify opportunities to improve clinical and administrative processes
4. Make appropriate decisions, using sound judgment
Cost Management/Financial Responsibility
1. Use resources efficiently
2. Search for less costly ways of doing things
At Children's, we know what it takes to really connect with kids, we're looking for nurses who love a challenge.
Pediatric nurses have to be patient. They have to be understanding, yet able to communicate effectively and honestly with a child and their family about their illness and treatment. And every Children's nurse must have the confidence to take a patient's care into his or her own hands.
At Children's you'll work closely with each patient and their family across a continuum of care - beginning with admission, when you perform physical assessments and take a patient/family history that covers all the vitals.
You'll prepare and carry out a plan of patient care. You'll work with professionals from all Children's health care disciplines. Together you will ensure your patients' progress every step of the way. You will even make rounds with physicians, discussing your patients' conditions and needs.
Professionally, you'll grow like never before.
The nursing practice environment at Children's is ideal for developing your skills to the maximum, increasing your level of responsibility and entering new specialty areas.
Our versatile career ladder, the Program for Professional Advancement (PPA), enables you to move both vertically and laterally across a wide range of clinical, educational and management opportunities. Recently we restructured our nurses compensation package to include:
Our recent achievement of Magnet status reflects what we’ve known all along: That our nurses are something very special - that their vision, talents, dedication and leadership define a truly exceptional practice environment. We invite you to learn more about our Magnet environment, accomplished by approximately 6% of the nation’s hospitals, and even fewer pediatric centers.
We are also a Beacon Award winner, recognized for our outstanding CICU and PICU environments. In fact, our Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit is the first in the country to be designated a Beacon Award winner AND our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit is the first in the Northeast region to receive the Beacon designation!