Medical-Surgical and Subspecialty Nursing

Our nurse resident alumni share their experiences within Medical-Surgical and Subspecialty Nursing.

Laura Aguilar BSN, RN

Hailee Storie BS, BSN, RN

Miguel Garcia BSN, RN

Payton Williams, BSN, RN

At Cook Children's, we believe that preparing our nurses to provide compassionate, family-centered care to our patients and families is of the utmost importance. The skills you will learn here will also give you the tools to educate children with a variety of complex diagnoses about their condition and teach them and their family members how to manage their care.

The Medical-Surgical and Subspecialty track in our accredited nurse residency program provides the broadest possible exposure to pediatric nursing.

Nurse residents in this track will care for patients with diagnoses such as:

Hematology disorders
Childhood cancer
Endocrine issues
Respiratory diseases
Behavioral health concerns
Transitional care
Rehabilitation needs
And much, much more

Apply now

1. Online: Fill out and submit specialty track application and questionnaire

Upload professional resume

2. Please submit essay and transcript in one email to: nurse.residency@cookchildrens.org

Essay

In a single APA 7th edition formatted essay, please answer the following prompts using these sub headings:

Experience

In 500 words or less, share a life experience that contributed to your own personal growth.

Attribute

In 500 words or less, share an experience when you demonstrated a personal attribute which could enhance your ability to practice professional pediatric nursing and function effectively on a team.

Employment/volunteer work

In 500 words or less, share an experience from your employment or volunteer work where you demonstrated professionalism and perseverance.

Nursing school transcript

Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.

3. Two (2) letters of recommendation from references who can attest to your clinical skills, such as a clinical professor or preceptor. Letters must be submitted by your references and emailed to: nurse.residency@cookchildrens.org. In order to be accepted, the letter of recommendation must be completed on the template. Download the letter of recommendation template by clicking the button below.

Letters of recommendation are not accepted from applicants.

Letter of recommendation

(Only available during application window)

Phase I

Clinical Rotations

Each 4-week rotation provides specialty unit hands-on experience with the pediatric patient.
Each nurse resident works with a unit guide. Nurse residents benefit from the knowledge and guidance of an experienced nurse in the clinical setting as they deliver patient care together.

Shadow Experiences

Throughout Phase I nurse residents spend designated time with "Partners in Caring" such as pharmacy, respiratory therapy, radiology, laboratory and many others.
The purpose of this experience is to increase collaboration between interdisciplinary partners and nursing to identify opportunities for improving patient outcomes.

Phase II

Unit placement

Phase II begins with each nurse resident receiving a unit assignment. A matching process determines nurse residents placement into open positions after considering all three of these components:
- Organizational needs include unit openings and varied shift availability (days, nights and weekends).
- Unit leadership and staff provide input into the placement of each nurse resident for each specialty unit.
- Nurse residents have the opportunity to express their feedback for each specialty unit.

Didactic learning

Throughout the program, all nurse residents in all specialty tracks will attend eight-hour class days as a cohort.
The classes provide an interactive learning environment to increase engagement, clinical knowledge and professional growth.
During Phase II, in addition to the nurse residency classes, unit specific classes are provided for each clinical specialty area through unit-specific orientation.

Designations and accreditations

The employee-based nurse residency program at Cook Children's Medical Center is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

The Magnet® designation is considered the international gold standard of nursing excellence. Cook Children’s Medical Center is the ﬁrst pediatric hospital in North Texas, and the 10th in the world, to receive this prestigious designation four consecutive times.

More information

Questions regarding Cook Children's Nurse Residency program may be directed via email to the Nurse Residency program assistant at nurse.residency@cookchildrens.org.