NURSING AT CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES
As a nurse, you approach care with energy and resolve. When you join us, you’ll find the perfect environment to develop your nursing career. We stop at nothing to make sure that every patient we see gets to enjoy all the special moments of childhood.
At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, we do our best to offer health and hope.
With a collaborative model and multidisciplinary approach, we embrace teamwork in everything we do. That helps our nurses make a difference where it matters most—in delivering compassionate, expert bedside care. The skill and uncommon dedication of our nurses explains why we’re one of the few hospitals to earn Magnet® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Our commitment to care begins with our professionals, and as an organization, we’re equally committed to supporting your career goals. As just one example of the support you’ll find here, we are the founding hospital for the RN Residency Program, now implemented across the nation to improve nurse education. With numerous opportunities at CHLA for training and mentorship in a range of specialty areas, you’ll have the resources and encouragement to develop your nursing career. If you’re ready to make a difference for thousands of children while elevating pediatric medicine as a whole, join us.
RN NEW GRADUATE RESIDENCY IN PEDIATRICS
About the Program
Program Recognition
Program Evaluation
Nursing Units and Specialties
About the Program
At Children's Hospital Los Angeles, it is our goal to take care of acutely ill and injured children in today’s increasingly complex technological environment. New graduate nurses need extended clinical experiences with appropriate support systems for a successful transition from nursing student to professional nurse.
At CHLA, we understand the needs of new graduate nurses as they integrate into the profession. To meet those needs, we offer the RN Residency in Pediatrics program, which provides the specific tools and experiences needed by new graduates to become successful pediatric nurses. With our new and updated RN Residency curriculum, we are proud to incorporate an added focus on experimental learning in the new 6-bed Las Madrinas Simulation Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. This shift from traditional content delivery to complex experiences will ensure our nurses’ success in the modern health care system.
CHLA is the founding hospital of the RN Residency and has over 20 years of experience in providing a structured, supportive residency program to new graduate nurses. Our one-year program provides new nursing school graduates with a comprehensive clinical and learning experience to prepare them for work in an acute care environment. It has become the model for the new graduate.
Program Recognition
The current workplace settings included in this accreditation with distinction designation are:
Medical-Surgical
Oncology
Critical Care
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
Operating Room
Centralized Function: Radiology
Emergency Department
Program Evaluation
Results of Previous Evaluations
Feedback received from program graduates has resulted in significant changes to the way the program is delivered. A few examples of these changes include:
Making classes more interactive
Increasing direct applicability to nursing practice
Focusing mentor meetings on career and professional development
Reordering skill labs so most important skills are taught earlier in the program
Evaluations have also helped us show the value of this great program, as over the last 10 years we have decreased turnover among new graduate nurses.
One-year turnover rate: reduced from 36% to less than 6%
Two-year turnover rate: reduced from 56% to less than 13%
Nursing Units and Specialties
Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) offers nurses and RNs the opportunity to specialize in several critical care areas, including cardiovascular care, critical care, hematology-oncology, medical services, rehabilitation and surgical.
See unit descriptions below. Participation varies based on availability.
Online Applications
The March cohort will begin on March 3rd, 2025. Applications will open on Friday, October 11th at 9 a.m. (PST) and close on Friday, October 25th at 12 p.m. PT
Interview Process
If you are selected for an interview, you will be notified via e-mail. Please allow Talent Acquisition and the Unit Managers sufficient time to review the packets and make their selections. We appreciate your patience.
Upcoming Program Dates
- March 2025
- September 2025
One-to-One Preceptor Training
At Children's Hospital Los Angeles, our RN residents spend 75% of the program time receiving one-to-one precepted training in the clinical setting. Our preceptors are experienced bedside pediatric nurses who are specially trained to provide expert clinical guidance to the resident.
Skills and Practice
RN residents spend the remaining 25% of the program time in simulation, skills labs and the classroom, being taught by our expert pediatric nurses and subject-matter experts. These sessions give the residents the tools necessary to make the transition from new graduate RN to specialty pediatric RN.
Dedicated Mentors, Coaches and Resources
Mentors are provided to help guide the residents in their career development and provide them with the tools needed to grow professionally.
Supportive Debriefing
Our RN residents participate in debriefing and self-care groups throughout the program. Our debriefing sessions are mediated by various members of our multidisciplinary team. In these forums, residents can gain skills to help manage stress and share experiences in a supportive and non-judgmental environment.
You are eligible for the RN Residency program at Children's Hospital Los Angeles if:
- You are a new graduate or an RN with less than one year of nursing experience in any area by the start of the program
-
You have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing or a Master of Science in Nursing **
- **The following units will accept new graduates with an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) for the March 2025 cohort: 4 East, 4 West, 5 East, 5 West, 6 East, 6 West, CardioVascular Acute, Duque MedSurg Emergency Department and Float Team. RN residents accepted to the program with an ADN will be required to enroll in a Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) program within 2 years of hire.
- Once an offer is made you will have 48 hours to accept.
Application
New Process
While we are accepting applications, search for “RN Residency Program” positions at:
Click here for external applicants
Click here for internal applicants
When you are ready to apply for the program you will complete and/or upload the following:
See Sample:
Interview Process
If you are selected for interviews, a Talent Advisor will contact you. The first round of interviews is with our RN Residency Hiring Committee. Those who are successful in advancing to the second round will interview with the unit representative.
Note: You must have your active California RN license, and you must have an active American Heart Association BLS (CPR) and PALS card to start the program.
RN FELLOWSHIP IN PEDIATRICS
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is excited to present a training program for the experienced registered nurse who is interested in transitioning to an acute care pediatric setting. The Transition RN Fellowship at CHLA prepares and supports experienced nurses as they enter into a pediatric specialty area. Learn more about this opportunity and other educational services and programs below.
- CHLA is acknowledged throughout the United States and around the world for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent medicine. As a Magnet-designated hospital, CHLA is one of America’s premier teaching hospitals, affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of USC for more than 73 years. We also are a national leader in pediatric research.
- The Transition RN Fellowship in Pediatrics is accredited as a Practice Transition Program by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. CHLA’s New Graduate RN Residency in Pediatrics is also accredited by the ANCC, and we are immensely proud of this external recognition of excellence.
- The Transition RN Fellowship ranges from 12 to 16 weeks depending on the area of specialty and includes competency-driven clinical immersion and curriculum, as well as formal mentoring and debriefing.
- Each transition RN fellowship receives an individualized learning plan for competency acquisition based on a performance gap analysis process.
- Vital professional development topics—such as career planning, conflict resolution, the culture of a new unit, self-confidence and goal setting—are presented and discussed.
Eligibility for the Transition RN Fellowship Program at Children's Hospital Los Angeles:
- A registered nurse with at least one year of experience working as an RN.
- Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) or Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree.
- Current American Heart Association CPR and PALS certification.
Apply online at at Jobs.CHLA.org by searching “Transition Fellows”
- You will be able to view and apply to the areas that are accepting applicants for the program.
- Please complete the entire online application and attach a resume and cover letter.
Online Applications
The next 2025 cohort will begin February 3rd, 2025. Applications will open on Tuesday, October 1st at 9 a.m. (PST) and close on Friday, December 20th at 12 p.m. (PST)
Application
Apply online using our Nursing Career Opportunities Search.
- You will be able to view and apply to the areas that are accepting applicants for the program.
- Please complete the entire online application; attaching a resume is highly recommended.
Upcoming Program Dates
- February 3, 2025
- August 4, 2025
FEATURED JOBS
4650 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027 | 323-660-2450
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