About Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt

The Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt is a place to hope and a place to heal for patients and their families. Ranked as one of the 10 best children's hospitals and in the top 10 for pediatric cancer care in the nation by Child magazine, Vanderbilt Children's cares for many of the sickest pediatric patients in the region and beyond.

Vanderbilt Children's is the most comprehensive Children's Hospital in the state, providing services from cancer treatments, organ and bone marrow transplants to broken legs and everything in between.

We treat all childrenVanderbilt Children's has the only Pediatric Emergency Department in Middle Tennessee and more than 100,000 patients are seen in the outpatient clinics each year.

Vanderbilt Children's is a non-profit teaching and research hospital, and relies on the support of individuals and others to help children get well and on their way.

Vision of Nursing

Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital nurses are dedicated to family centered care, where families are active decision makers in the development of the plan of care. Our nurses support both the children entrusted into our care as well as the families through education, collaboration, dignity, and respect for the values and beliefs of our diverse patient population. Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital nurses work collaboratively with other health care team members and provide families with the information they need in order to assist them in making treatment decisions for their child, as well as meeting the developmental and emotional specific needs of their children. The core of family centered care lies in our dedication to meeting the special needs of children and their families by empowering families to make educated decisions in collaboration with the health care team. We continually respect the dignity and confidentiality of our patients and achieve excellence in caring by upholding the ethical standards of nursing practice.

Pediatric Nurse Residency

Pediatric healthcare is a specialty that attracts compassionate people drawn to helping children and their families. In 2002, Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital launched its Pediatric Nurse Residency to aid in the transition of graduate and adult care nurses to a career in pediatric nursing. Utilizing peer support groups, preceptors, didactic lectures and clinical rotations, we designed our program to help you focus on areas of pediatric care that meet your personal interests and career objectives. Our program length of one year will help you begin your career in a supportive and caring environment.

The Pediatric Nurse Residency concentrates on a ten week orientation phase coupled with an additional six to fourteen week phase focusing on unit specific training.

Once hired into the Pediatric Nurse Residency, your first nine weeks will be spent learning from Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital content experts (and future colleagues) on subjects ranging from pediatric care specialties to wellness management. In addition, you will experience clinical rotations in each of our areas of pediatric care to acclimate you to the different patient population and environments in our Acute Care, NICU, PCCU, and Peds Ed units.

After the ninth week, it is our goal to pair you with the unit best suited to your interests and skills based on your clinical rotation observations. For the remainder of the Pediatric Nurse Residency, you will transfer to a designated unit to increase your skill level while remaining under the guidance of preceptors and unit educators. Acute Care areas include six to eight weeks of additional orientation, while intensive care areas (NICU, PCCU, and Peds ED) require twelve to fourteen weeks. We not only assist you clinically, we commit toan additional 27 hours of professional support with topics such as ethics, evidence-based practice and professional development.

Vanderbilt Childrens Hospitals Pediatrics Nurse Residency has been successful with our graduates by increasing their confidences as a new nurse, skill level, and ability to provide the best patient care.

APPLICATION PACKET REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINES

Please note: All paperwork must be submitted to the Medical Center Recruitment office address listed below as a complete packet. Materials will not be accepted if submitted as separate documents.

APPLICATION PACKET:

To be considered for the Pediatric Nurse Residency, please apply on-line at www.mc.vanderbilt.edu (choose "Career Opportunities," "Human Resources-Jobline" and enter Pediatric Nurse Residency Program in the "Key Word" description). The RN Pediatric Nurse Residency job listing will only be accessible when the Pediatric Nurse Residency is accepting applications--and not before or after. Anticipated date of graduation must be stated on resume.
--After your online application is received and it is determined you have the qualifications to be considered for the Pediatric Nurse Residency program, you will be sent an application packet via email that you will need to complete and submit by the deadline.

Two letters of recommendation (letters will only be accepted using the supplied form from the application packet obtained by the Vanderbilt Medical Center Recruitment office).
a. If you are a nursing students or recent graduates, the letter should be from a nursing instructor (preferably a pediatric instructor),

b. Current employees of Vanderbilt must have a letter of reference from current manager/supervisor.
- Most recent transcript of grades with a minimum GPA of 2.8 on a 4.0 system if you are a new
graduate.
- Current employees of Vanderbilt Medical Center with at least 600 hours worked within the prior 6 months will be considered with a grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. A copy of a recent evaluation with a score of 3.0 or greater in each credo standard and key function will be required as part of the application packet.
- A letter of intent including your career goals and how you feel this program would allow you to meet these goals.
- Proof of Tennessee RN licensure or eligibility to sit for certification exam. [must notify as soon as NCLEX is scheduled]
- Signed Background Check Consent Form (School name and anticipated date of graduation should be included in education section).
- Ability to be a full-time employee (36-40 hours per week)
- Commitment of at least one year of employment after completion of Residency Program

APPLICATION DEADLINES:

The Winter 2007 PEDIATRIC NURSE RESIDENCY begins January 2007
- Complete application packages accepted August 25, 2006 through September 29, 2006
PLEASE NOTE: Application packages will NOT be accepted after September 29, 2006--no exceptions
- Interviews held during October 2006
- Those accepted into the Spring 2007 Pediatric Nurse Residency Program will be notified no later than mid-November 2006

Pediatric Nurse Residency Program

This article is reposted with thanks to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.