JustKeepRiding

Ooo good luck!! A lot of people must have applied because I checked the day after it opened & most units were no longer taking applications ?? (but maybe that was a glitch? IDK). I interviewed with the NICU & start later this month. I've never felt more comfortable during any of my new grad interviews, & they really do love to hear examples from clinical rotations You're gonna kill it & lemme know if you have any questions ?!

Hi! I'll be starting in the NICU & this was the only unit I wanted to be considered for (I could be wrong, but I think it asks if you only want to be considered for your top choice). I graduated with my BSN! For reference, I applied the day that the application opened since their site recommended it & I also heard back to schedule a screening interview within 2-3 days. I just looked to see what units are hiring again & it looks like many have already stopped which is crazy ? they didn't go that fast when I applied.

I didn't know Benioff offers an actual residency? I thought it was just an RN 1 position for new grads LOL. I applied to Stanford Children's for this Spring & it was easily the most time consuming process out of all the hospitals I applied to ?. Me & some classmates also applied for UC Davis & honestly it was kind of a nightmare because of their ongoing hiring freeze, plus it took them months to reject people even though it seemed like the positions were filled pretty quickly. My best advice for the screening interview is be prepared to really talk about why you want to work there/why their mission & values align with what you want. You'll be asked a couple of pretty basic behavioral style questions & I think I answered them with patient examples from clinical rotations. It really didn't feel like an interview, but more so a conversation. None of the questions were tricky or very lengthy.

Congrats on graduating ?! I went to nursing school here in the Bay & had been applying for residencies since September. As much as I love it here I applied to Seattle Children's on a whim just to see what would happen because it's so hard to get into the major hospitals here. I even debated waiting another application cycle to brush up on interview skills before applying out of state, but I got impatient & it's very discouraging as a new grad here LOL.

Hi! I start their RN residency program later this month & would be happy to connect with you guys & answer any questions ?! I saw that their application JUST opened yesterday & already it looks like most departments are no longer hiring which is unfortunate. Hi! Are you also from the Bay (given your username)? I'm a new grad here & start the residency with Seattle Children's this month! I haven't found many others who are from here & applied out of state.

Hey! It's been a minute but as we've gotten closer to our start date, would you want to connect on Instagram or facebook? I made a page for our cohort, & have been struggling to find other people who will be joining us.

You're welcome! And congrats on accepting a new position! I precepted in a level 3 NICU, but accepted a position in a level 4. I'm in the Bay Area so I fully understand how competitive it is, especially because most of us look the same on paper/have limited to no experience. That's why I decided to apply out of state/took a new grad job in Seattle instead. I would've loved to work for UCD, but they will always be there to come back to/apply for and it'll be easier to get in with a year or 2 of experience ?.

Honestly, I don't know how safe our chances are at this point. I applied for their NICU, and when I emailed HR to ask for updates about my application (which still said "routed for further consideration"), she told me that the positions had already been filled. Not sure if that meant for both March and May or just March, but I'm not counting on hearing back & accepted a position in a different NICU.

Yes, NICU was my 1st choice, & I put PICU at my 2nd! And yes, their website talks about how it's important to apply early because those who do will be the ones to receive the first potential interviews & offer extensions. The turn around time is very appealing because if you don't get it then you don't have to wait around for a response. Resume & cover letter were required, & as far as I can remember I wasn't asked for any LOR's or references (I had 3 just in case). I do also have some certifications, but they weren't asked about.

You're very welcome ?! I applied the day that the application opened (January 13th), & received a call from recruitment the next day to schedule a phone screening/interview & that took place about 2-3 days later. You'll do the phone interview, which is very basic questions, & if recruitment thinks you're a good fit you'll be pushed through to a manager interview. I heard back within about a week with an official offer from recruitment, & you'll have 1 day to consider accepting or rejecting it. I believe they call for both rejections & acceptances. And yes! You'll be asked to choose your top 2 units & why you chose them. There were a lot of units participating for this April, so I'm not sure what that list will look like later this year for the August cohort.

Hey, congrats on being so close to graduating! I did my senior preceptorship in a level 3 NICU, but other than that I did not have any NICU or peds experience (besides peds clinical in school). My initial phone interview with the recruiter was very general questions like "Why Seattle Children's" "Tell me about any NICU experience you have,” etc. My NICU interview with the manager & educator was very similar, but almost all behavioral style questions. I will say, they made me feel very comfortable & it felt like we were having a conversation rather than an interview. Classic questions like "Tell me about a time you went above & beyond for a patient,” "Tell me a time where you provided culturally competent care,” etc. Definitely try to pull a lot of patient experiences/examples from your preceptorship (if you'll be in the NICU) if you can, or at least from any of your peds clinical rotation. I think they also really love to see applicants who know what the NICU is about, our patient population/diagnoses, & just the reality of what we do in the NICU. It's easy to forget it's still an ICU LOL.

Gotcha! That's totally different than what I was thinking LOL. Here in CA a lot of the major hospitals have a "clinical ladder,” which is basically when you're considered an "RN I" during your first year, then you become an "RN II" in your 2nd year, etc. But that's super helpful to know & use as a resource!

You're welcome! Where will you be moving from?

I'm almost positive that the recruiter had said rotating every 6 weeks for the 1st year, then we go to nights permanently.

Ohh yay! That's amazing!! ??

Hey, glad to see someone else in our cohort ?! What unit did you accept an offer for? I don't have any info on Seattle tbh because I'm moving up there from the Bay Area so we'll both be learning together ?

Great! Are clinical pathways similar to a clinical ladder? That's what most of the major hospitals here in the Bay Area have & I'd love to be able to progress if SHC has a similar équivalant.

Random question, but do they use EPIC for everything? I didn't even think of having to maybe learn a whole new EMR since all I used during school/clinical is EPIC.

Hi everyone, I wanted to create a thread for the Seattle Children's RN Residency Program for May 2024 because there aren't any current threads! I accepted an offer in their NICU & would love to hear from & connect with you guys! For those who've applied, interviewed, or accepted a position in the residency program so far (I know they're still accepting applications until February 29th), what units did you apply for/are interested in? I'll be moving up from the Bay Area & am super excited to meet everybody else in our cohort ?.

Thank you so much for the links, I'll take a look! Yes, I was very hesitant (& still am) to leave CA because we're so well taken care of here & I've heard horror stories from most other states. But overall, the West Coast def seems like the place to be overall for nursing. I looked up the Seattle Children's staffing plan back from 2022 & it outlined all of the patient to nurse ratios for each unit/department, including ambulatory & urgent care. 2-3:1 was the ratio for the NICU I precepted at in the Bay Area if they were feeder growers/level 2 kids, & level 3 kids or higher were 1-2:1, so that's reassuring to hear that the ratios are pretty much the same.

Could anybody talk about the patient ratios in WA? Specifically for Seattle Children's & the surrounding hospitals? I'm sure there's people on here who came from CA & we have very strong unions & staffing ratios ? sorry, I really just don't know much about nursing culture up in WA & want to find out as much as possible.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you guys! I had applied for NICU, but never heard anything back until I emailed recruitment/HR & that's when I was told all positions had been filled. Pretty crappy, especially cuz my app still says "router for further consideration.” But, hoping that everyone who interviewed so far will not have their cohort cancelled ??

Hey! Yes, I was gonna ask what hospital you go into because I also looked into UW for this cycle, but they aren't offering a new grad program outside of adult acute care & behavioral medicine (if I remember correctly). I'm sure it's equally as competitive up there in the Seattle Area as it is down where I'm at in the Bay Area, just with fewer options I think. I'd love for you to DM me with your socials for the NICU group because I don't know anyone up there at all & haven't been able to find others who will be joining my cohort. I'll also happily take any tips or tricks you have about living in Seattle! ?

YES! I said "that's a great question" or "I love this question" at least 2-3 times & if I needed an extra few seconds to answer I would also ask them to repeat it & if I could take a minute to think about what to say. I actually didn't get any feedback from them yet LOL, but I won't formally accept the offer until tmrw. I'd really love to form a facebook group, What's App, or big group chat for everyone in our cohort, & maybe a smaller one for NICU/PICU/CVICU. Anybody know anyone else who was accepted? I know they're continuing to interview people, & the app is technically still open till the 29th so maybe it's a little early.

I interviewed with 2 managers, & 1 I believe is the unit educator/coordinator. I can't put their names on here unfortunately. It was about 30 min & they went question by question as well. I also felt like I was scrambling to come up with meaningful answers, & def felt like I could've explained some parts better. The biggest tip I would suggest is to write down the questions they asked (if you choose to reapply) & really pull examples from your peds clinical rotation (specifically if you did a NICU preceptorship). I also tried really hard to connect with them on a personal level (we chatted about the Super Bowl, Usher's halftime show, etc). Another tip is to ask really good question's on at the end. I asked about what is their favorite memory from working in their NICU, how they would describe their unit culture, & if there is anything about me that would make them hesitate to bring me onto their team.