Progressive Care Unit (PCU)

Progressive Care Unit

The 11, 9, 5W, and 7 Progressive Care Units at UC San Diego Health System are at the forefront of high quality patient care and service. It is a unique unit that advocates for patient safety and satisfaction through transformational leadership, innovation, and empowerment of the professional nurse.

These 56 bed units serves as a stepping stones for those patients who are well enough to leave the ICU, but may still require closer monitoring than that provided on our Medical/Surgical or Telemetry units. We care for a wide variety of patient populations, including but not limited to: patients suffering from traumatic injuries, solid organ transplantations, strokes, patients with CHF. And now, we are proud to say we will be incorporating the specialty of bariatric surgery.

Magnet journey

In order for UCSD to achieve magnet status each unit must do their part. In order to ensure we are doing our part to contribute to the magnet journey we have implemented programs such as:

• Shared Governance Committee - group of staff RN’s who meet monthly to discuss ways to strategize ways to improve the quality of nursing care, unit structure, and patient satisfaction
• Commitment to Quality Outcomes- encourage a positive environment through evidenced based practice and advancing (education/certification) to improve quality of care.
• Consultations and Resources - unit resources include a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), unit based nurse educator, expert clinicians, experienced charge nurses, and a leadership team committed to excellence.
• Professional development - we value and support personal and professional growth by offering a variety of courses, supporting career development, as well as informative and educational in-services.

Ideal Candidates

Ideal candidates are those nurses who put patients and their families at the center of the health care team. We are looking for nurses that exhibit compassion, caring, a commitment to quality evidence based outcomes, and a genuine smile.

New Grad Programs

We offer quarterly new graduate training programs. Each new grad participates in a three part program which includes:

• 12 week preceptorship: new grads are paired with an experienced RN to gain clinical skills and advance critical thinking.
• Each New Grad RN will attend the Critical Care Intern Program: 12 comprehensive lectures reviewing critical care topics.
• Nurse Residency Program: this 12 month program is designed to help new grads throughout UC San Diego transition smoothly into their new roles as professional nurses.