Our PICU is part of our Surgical Intensive Care Unit, where we care for both adult and pediatric surgical patients. We have 4 dedicated beds. Our census is variable -- sometimes we have no PICU patients, while at other times we may have 8-10 at once. We care for newborns up to age 16. The RNs new to our unit usually care for adults for at least a year before they are oriented to the PICU population.
We provide a five-month orientation program for new RNs without critical care experience, and a 1 to 2 month orientation for experienced RNs depending on the type of ICU they worked in previously. All of our RNs must be advanced cardiac life support (ACLS)-certified. When you are ready to be oriented to the PICU we provide pediatric advanced life support (PALS) certification and a PICU course with orientation. Currently RNs may care for one adult patient and one PICU patient, depending on the care required.
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