What are the responsibilities and job description for the New Grad RN Resident - Heart & Vascular Progressive Care ICU Pathway position at Cleveland Clinic?
Launch your nursing career within the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute (HVTI) — one of the nation’s premier destinations for complex cardiac and vascular care. This pathway offers opportunities within both CVICU and high-acuity Progressive Care (Stepdown), allowing new graduate nurses to build a strong clinical foundation caring for some of the sickest cardiac patients outside of critical care.
About the Role:
Most new graduate nurses begin in our high-acuity Progressive Care (Stepdown) units, working alongside expert nurses, advanced practice providers, physicians, and multidisciplinary teams caring for complex cardiac patients, including:
- Post–open heart surgery patients
- Heart and lung transplant recipients
- Ventricular assist device (VAD) patients
- Medically complex cardiac populations
This is not a traditional stepdown unit. You’ll manage rapidly changing patient conditions, advanced monitoring, and complex drips in a fast-paced environment designed to accelerate clinical growth from day one.
Why HVTI Progressive Care:
For nurses interested in critical care, this is a powerful launching pad into ICU-level practice. You will build essential skills in:
- Advanced assessment and prioritization
- Clinical judgment and decision-making
- Managing high-acuity, unstable patients
- Exposure to advanced cardiac therapies and technology
Career Growth & ICU Pathway:
At Cleveland Clinic, we believe exceptional ICU nurses are built through strong clinical foundations. Many future CVICU nurses begin here, gaining the foundation needed for ICU success.
This experience provides:
- A structured pathway toward critical care readiness
- Exposure to some of the most complex cardiac patients outside of the ICU
- Opportunities for transition into CVICU roles based on performance, experience, and organizational needs
If you want more than a first nursing job — and are seeking intensity, purpose, and exposure to some of the most complex patients in healthcare — HVTI is where your career begins.
A caregiver in this position works 7:00am-7:30pm or 7:00pm-7:30am. Rotating weekends and holidays.
A caregiver who excels in this role will:
Participate in a residency core curriculum based on individual learning needs.
Provide direct nursing care alongside a success coach.
Establish and/or revise priorities for patient care (acuity of need, patient preference and resource availability).
Respond to data indicating risk to patients’ health and initiate action to correct, reduce or prevent risk.
Seek supervision, consultation and assistance when unable to perform safely and independently.
Document in patients’ medical records.
Minimum qualifications for the ideal future caregiver include:
Graduate from an accredited school of professional nursing (ADN or BSN program)
Current state licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN)
Basic Life Support (BLS) certification through the American Heart Association (AHA) or American Red Cross
New graduate RN OR less than one year of RN work experience
Preferred qualifications for the ideal future caregiver include:
Bachelor of science in nursing (BSN)
Physical Requirements:
- Requires full range of body motion including handling and lifting patient, manual and finger dexterity, and eye-hand coordination.
- Requires standing and walking for extended periods of time.
- Requires corrected vision and hearing to normal range.
- Requires working under stressful conditions and irregular hours.
- Exposure to communicable diseases and/or body fluids.
- Medium Work - Exerting 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently, and/or greater than negligible up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects.
- Physical Demand requirements are in excess of those for Light Work.
Personal Protective Equipment:
Follows Standard Precautions using personal protective equipment as required for procedures.
Pay Range
Minimum hourly: $35.50
Maximum hourly: $55.60
The pay range displayed on this job posting reflects the anticipated range for new hires. A successful candidate’s actual compensation will be determined after taking factors into consideration such as the candidate’s work history, experience, skill set and education. The pay range displayed does not include any applicable pay practices (e.g., shift differentials, overtime, etc.). The pay range does not include the value of Cleveland Clinic’s benefits package (e.g., healthcare, dental and vision benefits, retirement savings account contributions, etc.).
Salary : $36 - $56