Pediatric Emergency Department Nursing Careers
Nurses in the Emergency Department provide emergency medical care for children up to 16 years of age with acute medical, surgical and mental health illnesses or injuries.
About the department
The Emergency Department (ED) provides clinical care for approximately 50,000 sick and/or injured children aged newborn to 16 years old each year.
We see patients from across British Columbia. This includes local residents and those transferred from other facilities or emergency events. They present with illness and injury across the entire acuity spectrum, including medical, surgical sub-specialty and mental health.
BC Children’s Hospital ED is a provincial referral centre and a tertiary care level 1 trauma centre. It provides tier 6 (level 1) subspecialty pediatric trauma services for the province.
Nursing qualifications and roles
To work in the ED, you need to have:
- Graduated from a recognized nursing program
- At least one year of nursing experience (preferably)
Ideally you have experience working in pediatric or emergency room nursing.
Our bedside nurses have a four-bed space for which they admit and discharge. They work with a full interdisciplinary team including a charge nurse.
For nurses with experience and training, the ED has these additional roles:
- Low-acuity area: looking after a varying number of patients with a physician or nurse practitioner
- Triage nurse: advanced practice, assesses arriving patients for level of acuity
- Trauma nurse/code team: advanced critical care practice for trauma nursing
- Mental wellness: supporting patients in mental health crisis to remain safe
- Charge nurse: leadership role in the ED, overseeing patient flow and staffing assignments
Scheduling
We have a variety of full-time and part-time master rotations which include:
- Days/nights (12 hours)
- Days/evenings (12 hours): 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and/or 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.
New hires typically work a full-time days/nights rotation for the first year, although they may bid into other available lines based on availability and seniority.
Orientation
Once you complete a skills and competency assessment form, we tailor orientation to the level of experience that you bring. Orientation ranges from 12 shifts to 6 months, following a general two-week hospital pediatric nursing orientation.
It is a combination of learning modes:
- Self-directed
- Classroom
- Simulation
- Supported hands-on
Career opportunities and growth
New team members participate in BC Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Education Program. It is an asynchronous onboarding and education program.
The program blends e-learning, skills and simulation to help prepare nurses to work at a novice level within the hospital. All in-patient areas use this 15-week-long program. Nurses who complete the program could pursue their pediatric specialty credential through BCIT.