Registered Nurse (RN) II - Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU)

Kids Are Our Everything.

Department

Pay Range

Who We Are:

Children’s National Hospital is the region’s leading provider of critical care for seriously ill and injured infants and children. We offer the only Level IV Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and specialized Cardiac ICU (CICU) in the greater Washington, DC area.  In our state-of-the-art CICU, our team of pediatric heart specialists is dedicated to saving and improving the lives of our most vulnerable patients.

The Cardiac ICU provides subspecialty care for critically ill patients with congenital, acquired cardiovascular or related diseases. The 26-bed unit integrates the latest technology in a family friendly environment. The multidisciplinary team is dedicated to improving outcomes for children through innovation and research. The CICU staff includes an integrated cardiac team with all sub-specialists readily available and accessible. The unit-based staff includes a dedicated pharmacist, respiratory therapist, social worker, nurses, as well as physicians from the divisions of anesthesiology, critical care medicine, cardiology and cardiac surgery. Children’s CICU is home to an Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) center of excellence for ECMO services in children. The CICU also has VAD (Ventricular Assist Device) and heart transplant programs.

 The Telehealth Command Center in our CICU uses cutting-edge technology to keep continuous watch over the most fragile patients. It offers collaborative communication to help monitor, predict and prevent major events such as cardiac arrest. 

About the Role:

A Registered Nurse in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at Children’s National Hospital provides highly specialized care for critically ill infants and children with congenital, acquired, and complex cardiovascular conditions. Working within the region’s only Level IV Pediatric ICU and specialized CICU, nurses monitor and manage patients requiring advanced therapies such as ECMO, ventricular assist devices (VADs), and heart transplantation support. They collaborate closely with a multidisciplinary team of physicians, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, and social workers to deliver family-centered care, utilize advanced monitoring technology, respond to emergent changes in patient condition, and support innovative treatments that improve outcomes for some of the hospital’s most medically fragile patients.

All nursing practice is based on the legal scope of practice, national and specialty nursing standards, Children's National Policies and Procedures, and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. The Professional Model of Care requires registered professional nurses to be responsible and accountable for their own practice. Children's National supports the development of RN relationships within the community; specifically those relationships associated with the health and well being of the community at large.

What You’ll Bring:

Minimum Education
BSN Graduated from an approved school of nursing. (Preferred)

Minimum Work Experience
1 year RN experience (Required)

Required Skills/Knowledge
The licensed Registered Nurse will successfully complete the hospital and nursing orientation at Children’s National. Keep knowledge base current with new information or changes in specialty area.

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. (Required)

Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Required

Functional Accountabilities

Transformational Leadership

• Contribute to Magnet re-designation as evidenced by independent updating of professional profile and initiation of council involvement, committees, task forces and /or community outreach.

• Demonstrate critical thinking skills by problem solving appropriately during patient care.

• Communicate to reflect development of plan of care and ability to advocate to meet patients’ needs.

• Independently initiate escalation of issues utilizing chain of command.

• Demonstrate proper use of the currently identified hand off processes.

• Demonstrate a collegial and respectful relationship with ancillary staff.

• Participate in implementing change and support management decisions.

• Role model behavior that reflects empathy, concern and a desire to help others.

Structural Empowerment

• Independently maintain regulatory requirements e.g. license, BLS.

• Plan for attendance at mandatory education and professional activities to enhance nursing practice.

• Demonstrate professional review of peers through timely participation in evaluations.

• Seek out opportunities to participate in enhancing departmental goals by ensuring adherence to national safety standards and service excellence standards; support advancement of education and certification as well.

• Collaborate with members of the healthcare team and role model professional behavior and teamwork with coworkers.

• Utilize resources as needed and know when to escalate to next level.

Exemplary Professional Practice

• Utilize assessment data gathered from patient and family to ensure completion of data base and plan of care within identified timeframes.

• Demonstrate clinical skills with complex patients that reflect analysis of patient status and appropriate interventions.

• Role model skill in prioritization and organization for complex patient with rapidly changing needs.

• Documentation exemplifies adherence to the highest standards of practice.

• Anticipate and proactively plan for educational needs verified with patient and family throughout the hospital/outpatient stay and prior to discharge.

• Role model organizational skills, adjust for changes and is able to complete assignment on time.

• Demonstrate caring in all encounters with patient and family as evidenced by feedback from parents and an increase in patient satisfaction scores.

Safety

• Speak up when team members appear to exhibit unsafe behavior or performance

• Continuously validate and verify information needed for decision making or documentation

• Stop in the face of uncertainty and takes time to resolve the situation

• Demonstrate accurate, clear and timely verbal and written communication

• Actively promote safety for patients, families, visitors and co-workers

• Attend carefully to important details - practicing Stop, Think, Act and Review in order to self-check behavior and performance

Organizational Accountabilities
New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements

• Identify ways to improve operations through quality improvement and assist in implementation of solutions.

• Identify self learning needs and take initiative to meet those needs.

• Ensure care is based on evidence with the literature and benchmarking

Organizational Commitment/Identification

• Partner in the mission and upholds the core principles of the organization

• Committed to diversity and recognizes value of cultural ethnic differences

• Demonstrate personal and professional integrity

• Maintain confidentiality at all times

Customer Service

• Anticipate and responds to customer needs; follows up until needs are met

Teamwork/Communication

• Demonstrate collaborative and respectful behavior

• Partner with all team members to achieve goals

• Receptive to others’ ideas and opinions

Performance Improvement/Problem-solving

• Contribute to a positive work environment

• Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to change

• Identify opportunities to improve clinical and administrative processes

• Make appropriate decisions, using sound judgment

Cost Management/Financial Responsibility

• Use resources efficiently

• Search for less costly ways of doing things

Benefits That Support You:

• Comprehensive health coverage, including medical, prescription, infertility, and transgender health services.

• Generous paid time off, including vacation accrual from day one, sick leave, holidays, and a personal day.

• Financial wellness support, including a 401(k) plan and healthcare and dependent care spending accounts.

• Employer-paid life, AD&D, and long-term disability coverage, with optional supplemental plans.

• Additional perks, including tuition assistance, fitness resources, employee assistance, commuter benefits, and more.

Why Join Us:

• Nationally Recognized Excellence – Consistently ranked among the Top 10 Children’s Hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

• Leading Pediatric Care – One of the largest and most comprehensive children’s hospitals in the country, offering nationally ranked specialties and cutting-edge treatments.

• Innovation & Research – A premier academic medical center with a strong commitment to pediatric research, education, and advancing the future of child health.

• Mission-Driven Culture – Dedicated to providing family-centered care while fostering a collaborative, supportive environment for clinical teams.

The disclosed salary range includes the minimum and maximum rates within which Children’s National believes an individual’s base pay rate will fall for this position. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the maximum of the pay range. The exact pay rate for this position will be based on a variety of factors in alignment with the Children’s National compensation philosophy. These factors are legitimate and non-discriminatory including, but not limited to, the current market conditions; organizational needs; the individual’s combination of prior work experience, level of education, knowledge, skills, and other qualifications. Children’s National is committed to providing a fair and competitive total rewards package to each of our employees. This base salary range does not include our comprehensive benefits package or any additional compensation for which this position may be eligible.

Childrens National Hospital is an equal opportunity employer that evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, identity, or other characteristics protected by law. The “Know Your Rights” poster is available here: and the pay transparency policy is available here: Know Your RightsPay Transparency Nondiscrimination Poster.

Please note that it is the policy of Children's National Hospital to ensure a “drug-free” work environment: a workplace free from the illegal use, possession or distribution of controlled substances (as defined in the Controlled Substances Act), or the misuse of legal substances, by all staff (management, employees and contractors). Though recreational and medical marijuana are now legal in the District of Columbia, Children's National and its affiliates maintain the right, in accordance with our policy, to enforce a drug-free workplace, including prohibiting recreational or prescribed marijuana.