procrastinator911

Congratulations! I am in the same boat as you , except without the CV experience. I start in 2 weeks. NotReady4PrimeTime is a awesome and has endless knowledge. Search in allnurses under peds cvicu/cticu and there should be some good info, especially from NotReady4PrimeTime!!! Good luck.

You're welcone and Thank you. I did get an offer from the 2nd hospital and I took it!!!

Anyone apply to the CHLA transition nurse program

Yeah I know it will be such a huge learning curve, but I'm looking forward to it

Hey Guys, Well my prayers have been answered. I finally had the opportunity to interview for 2 pediatric positions at 2 really good Children's Hospitals. One is for the CTICU at, which is an hour away from me. The other position is for the ICU Step Down, about 40 mins from me. I was offered the position for BOTH hospitals. The are both teaching hospitals. My nursing background is only in the Operating Room (1 yr, 5 months), so this wonderful opportunity is extremely scary and exciting. I am torn between the 2. The one hospital for the CTICU has a transition nurse residency program for nurses wanting to transition into peds. The program is new,but it will mirror their extremely popular top notch new grad program, just a shorter time ranging from 12-14 weeks. I am not sure how long of an orientation i will have for the step-down ICU. I want to get the best training since I will kind of be starting from scratch. Let me be clear I have always been passionate about working in peds but the ICU never crossed my mine, but lately I have been drawn to the CTICU. So naturally I'm worried that I won't be able to handle it. I've talked to other nurses who know me just to get their perspective. I even contacted my old pediatric instructor for guidance and support. I would love to get everyone's perspective. Thank you!!!

Thank you. How long did it take you to really start to feel comfortable

Thank you very much for a such a detailed description of the intermediate unit. I appreciate it very much. Thank you!

Hi all, Lately I have been focused on asking for advice instead of giving it. So today I'm here to send some positive vibes. For all you trying to switch units/specialties...STAY FOCUSED!!!! Don't let anyone tell you that you can't or that it will be hard, it may be hard but not impossible. Sometimes you will need to sacrifice to get what you want. I currently have a year and a half of nursing experience in the OR. Unfortunately, 7 months into it I realized that I didn't want to do it. I decided to pursue my passion of working in peds. I went and got PALS certified. I got my license endorsed by CA, relocated to San Diego with my husband (which was planned). I had a hard time landing a job in San Diego. After a few months with no results I took an job offer in an OR almost 2 hrs away from San Diego to hopefully get more opportunities to pursue my passion. I started applying to multiple Children's Hospitals and pediatric positions. I immediately got 2 interviews at 2 different Children's Hospitals. I just got an offer for one, and I had an interview with the other today. I am extremely BLESSED!!!!! AND EXCITED!!!!! If you really want something, go for it!!! And be willing to do whatever and make sacrifices. Don't give up. You are in control of your future (and the people interviewing you lol). GOOD LUCK!!!!!

I got an offer from a children's hospital on the peds intermediate icu. I am extremely excited. I understand they require more frequent monitoring and care compared to the floor, but less than ICU. But I wanted to know how sick are these kids? How long do they usually stay on the unit (I meant to ask during the interview but I forgot). I have seen many posts about NICU,PICU, HEM/ONC, etc, but I haven't seen anything about intermediate care. I just want to have an idea of what to expect. I just want to prepare so i can provide the best care for my patients Thanks guys

Thanks NickiLaugh, it kinda helps lol. DatMurse it is a non-union hospital

I see people have viewed but no responses yet. I know some people get sensitive about listing pay but I really need to know what my my finances are going to look like especially with the amount of taxes California takes out, not to mention if they charge a lot for parking. HELP ME OUT GUYS!

Hi All, I haven't seen any updated chatter about hourly pay in the LA area. I know UCLA ,Cedar Sinai,and Loma Linda University Medical Center have their hourly rates posted. I wanted to know if glassdoor.com was accurate for CHLA ? I have heard great things about CHLA and their Versant program which I am really interested in. However, according to glassdoor.com their pay starts at $31/hr. I was wondering if anyone knew if it were actually more or less. I will not be able to afford the cost of living with anything below $33/hr. I know glassdoor has $41/hr at CHOC, but I just recently found out from someone with experience they were offered $34/hr, that's not including differential. If anyone could help me out with this I would appreciate it. If you don't want to leave it in a comment please inbox me. I'm just the type of person that needs to know if all my expenses,bills, and rent are going to be ok month to month. And believe it or not I want to be able to save money. Thanks

Hey all, I just started a new job about a month ago. There is another position I really want at another hospital completely unrelated to what I am doing now. I don't know if I should list the hospital down as a reference? Should I list the hospital on my resume?The hospital I am at now is unaware that I am looking for another job (it was really just a filler until I got into what I really wanted and I needed the money), I plan to maybe work prn at the hospital I currently work at if I get hired at the other one. I figured if I get an interview I can mention that I just recently took a temporary job until the one I wanted opens up. What are your thoughts?

Congrats to all who were hired. I'm thinking of applying for the CTICU. How do you like working there? What is the pay like?

Thanks. Congrats to you and good luck. Almost wish I was new grad again lol. I was lucky enough to get 3 interviews and offers from 2 out of 3