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Registered Nurse (August 2026 New Grad) - PICU

Duke Health

Duke University Hospital

Durham, North Carolina

Posted Jun 16 · New grads welcomed

Shift and hours
12-⁠hour rotating3 shifts · 36 hours a week
Unit and setting
Duke Pediatric Intensive Care Unit · 16 beds · Hospital
License
RN licenseNorth Carolina State Board of Nursing RN licensure or compact RN licensure
Term
Permanent

Do you qualify?

New grads
Welcomed Registered Nurse (August 2026 New Grad) - PICU
License
North Carolina State Board of Nursing RN licensure or compact RN licensure Check your license
Your six-month RN application plan

Start about six months before graduation. Some programs open earlier; use each employer’s application dates.

  1. 6 months before

    Shortlist units

    Check application windows. Gather clinical experience, references and your expected graduation date.

    Find residencies
  2. 4–6 months before

    Apply as windows open

    Apply before graduation when the program allows it. Keep the cohort date and license deadline with each application.

    Explore new grad jobs
  3. 2–3 months before

    Meet the unit manager

    Ask about overtime, a shadow shift, preceptor continuity and the schedule after orientation.

    Prepare your questions
  4. Around graduation

    Confirm your start

    Coordinate NCLEX, the required license and your start date. Get relocation and repayment terms in writing.

    Plan your license
Why start this early?

Advocate describes a 6–9 month application runway for several regional RN programs. These milestones are a planning guide, not deadlines for every employer. See program calendars.

What it pays

Benefits

  • Career development plan
  • Relocation assistance
  • Total Rewards

The role and schedule

Hours stated
Three 12-hour shifts per week, rotating days and nights (7 a.m./7 p.m.), for 36 hours a week

Support on this unit

The posting does not state the assignment size, and nothing published names it for this unit.

Residency
August 2026

Worth asking

  • Can you walk me through base pay range and differentials?
  • What should I expect for weekend, holiday, call, and rotation?
More questions to ask
  • What orientation, preceptor time, and ongoing unit support are included?
  • How are patient load, floating, and staffing support handled day to day?
Build questions for this role

Your fit

On your path

Pediatrics is open from year one. Children's hospitals run their own new grad residencies.

Original listing

Read full text

What you can expect

Location: 2301 Erwin Rd, Durham, NC 27705.

The Duke Pediatric Intensive Care Unit is a 16-bed unit in Duke Central Tower (2B) at Duke University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center. The unit specializes in cardiovascular surgery, respiratory failure, neurosurgery, stem cell transplantation, immunodeficiencies, hematologic and oncologic emergencies, sepsis, multi-organ system dysfunction, and congenital heart disease. Advanced treatment options include extracorporeal life support (ECMO), high-frequency ventilation, nitric oxide therapy, and non-invasive ventilation.

Schedule

Full time: Three 12-hour shifts per week, rotating days and nights (7 a.m./7 p.m.), for 36 hours per week.

Incentives & Total Rewards

Relocation Assistance: Relocation is offered to employees relocating from a permanent residence located at least 50 miles from Duke University Hospital. A permanent residence is typically defined as the address listed on a valid government-issued ID (e.g., driver’s license). Temporary housing, such as dormitories or student apartments, does not qualify.

Total Rewards: A comprehensive set of pay and benefits designed to support your well-being, professional growth, and work-life balance. Learn more here. How you will make an impact Plan and provide professional nursing care for patients in accordance with medical and nursing plans of care and established policies and procedures.

Utilize the nursing process to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate patient care in accordance with physician orders. Delegate tasks and supervise activities of licensed and unlicensed care providers. Collaborate with healthcare team members to support patient care and maintain the care environment.

Participate in professional development, performance improvement initiatives, and support education of staff and learners. What you will need ICU clinical rotations in any setting; Pediatric ICU senior capstone preferred. Graduation from an accredited Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing (or higher), Associate's Degree in Nursing, or Nursing Diploma program.

All registered nurses without a BSN must enroll in a BSN program within two years and complete within five years. Current registration with North Carolina State Board of Nursing or compact RN licensure. BLS Certification required.

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas — an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.

What's around it?

In Durham, NC

Durham, NCFrom Census ACS 2024.

Living costs about 2% below the US average

Median rent
$1,508/mo
Household income
$81,619/yr, all local households, not nurse pay

See Durham, NC

Nurses on this role

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