The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) provides critical care to more than 1,200 patients each year. It’s the only intensive care unit in British Columbia that specializes in pediatric medicine, serving those from newborn to age 17. PICU patients have urgent needs due to life threatening disease from injury or following surgery, such as cardiac or brain surgery.
The PICU is a 28-bed unit, arranged in three pods of specialty care – Cardiac and Medical/Surgical. Nurses in the PICU generally care for one patient, as the needs of the patients are complex and require coordination of many care providers, including allied health professionals. The nursing team is supported by multiple positions including Program Manager, Clinical Educators, Clinical Nurse Coordinators, Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Quality Risk Leader. Together, this group supports nurses to provide the best quality patient care possible, using education and research for innovative approaches to care.
BC Children’s Hospital is committed to supporting ongoing learning through dedicated education days, interdisciplinary education including simulation, and a variety of workshop and conference opportunities.
Yes! PICU has partnered with the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) to provide new hires with opportunities for specialized education in pediatric critical care. Our Advanced Certificate in Pediatric Nursing Specialty – Critical Care program takes up to 24 months to complete and is delivered in three phases of online, tutor-supported critical care theory, and preceptor-supported clinical. The training is completed by preparing and writing the Canadian Nursing Association (CNA) – Pediatric Critical Care Exam by the third year.
The master rotation creates flexibility by way of self and colleague exchanges. For the first several months in the department, your schedule will be aligned with your preceptor.
The PICU has opportunities in continuous quality improvement projects, committees and the unit-based council, to name a few. Advanced clinical and leadership opportunities are available on an ongoing basis within the department and organization. Many staff choose to advance their skills in areas such as extracorporeal life support.
