Education > Nursing Critical Care Residencies & Specialty Programs

Take Your Career to New Places with Critical Care Residencies & Specialty Programs.

You love your job, but maybe you’d like to explore something a little different—a new specialty or department. At Parkland we make it easy. Our residencies and Specialty programs prepare you for work in Critical Care fields, where the challenge and rewards are second to none.

Adult Critical Care
The Adult Critical Care Residency is offered three times per year to prepare registered nurses to safely care for patients in the critical care environment.

• Following the initial introductory information on basic dysrhythmia interpretation and treatment, the course moves on to review technical skills common to critical care such as ventilator management, hemodynamic pressure monitoring, arterial blood gas sampling, phlebotomy, intravenous therapy, defibrillation, and airway management.
• Supervised clinical labs and hands-on breakout sessions are incorporated for the demonstration and practice of skills to reinforce learning.
• The classroom component covers an in-depth review of the anatomy and physiology of the major body systems, and introduction to the pathophysiologic processes resulting in critical and life threatening illnesses, and the diagnostic evaluation and clinical management of such illnesses.
• The course involves classroom instruction and clinical orientation supervised by experienced nurse educators and preceptors.

Emergency
The Emergency Nursing Residency is offered in conjunction with the Adult Critical Care Residency and is designed to prepare registered nurses to safely care for patients in the emergency environment.

• In addition to subjects presented in the Critical Care Residency, the ED Residency provides specialized didactic content on medical and surgical emergencies, minor and major trauma, emergency airway management, priority setting, and documentation.
• The hands-on breakout sessions and clinical labs focus on skills and procedures common to the Emergency Department in an environment conducive to learning.
• The course lasts sixteen weeks with didactic content interspersed with clinical orientation with an assigned preceptor.

Perinatal
The Perinatal Nursing Residency is a 14 week course which is divided into two segments to prepare registered nurses to safely care for patients in the Labor and Delivery areas.

• The first segment concentrates on intrapartum and postpartum management of both routine and high-risk obstetrical patients.
• Content focuses on the physiology/pathophysiology, diagnostic tests, medical management, and nursing care of non-surgical conditions commonly encountered in the Labor and Delivery area.
• The second segment continues to focus on the high-risk obstetrical patient with an emphasis on surgery and recovery room management.
• This segment begins with a review of technical skills commonly used in the Labor and Delivery Operating Room, Recovery Room, and the Extended Care Unit with supervised clinical skills labs to reinforce learning.
• Classroom instruction includes normal physiology/pathophysiology, diagnostic tests, and medical and nursing management of conditions commonly encountered in the Labor and Delivery Operating Room, Recovery Room, and Extended Care Unit.

Neonatal Intensive Care
The Neonatal Intensive Care Residency is a sixteen-week course of study designed to prepare the registered nurse for practice in the complex environment of a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

• Classes include a concentrated schedule of lectures and technical skills demonstrations.
• Content addresses fetal physiology/pathophysiology, normal and sick newborn assessments, and resuscitations.
• Also included are principles of nutrition and pharmacology, as well as in-depth discussions of the pathological conditions common in critically ill neonates.
• Fundamental technical skills and complex care entities utilized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are presented.

OR Nurse Specialty
The OR Nurse Specialty Course is a nine-month program designed to prepare the registered nurse for safe practice in the complex environment of the Operating Suite.

• Course content focuses on application of perioperative nursing concepts with critical thinking, problem-solving, and leadership skills.
• Assessment of pathophysiology and physiology influences affecting the patient’s response to surgical intervention, as well as identifying nursing care needs of patients based on scientific knowledge and the AORN standards of practice, are emphasized.

To find out more about the Parkland Nursing Critical Care Residencies and Specialty Programs, please call (214) 590-8535.