Meet Jennifer Ross! For the last 16 years, she's been a nurse in the Cedars-Sinai Pediatrics Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Cedars-Sinai. In her role, she cares for severely ill children. 

We sat down with the Los Angeles native to learn more about her position and how she manages her work.

Jennifer Ross: We take care of children needing to be in the PICU for a variety of reasons or conditions. We deal with patients who might be intubated or otherwise critically ill. We also help their parents, who are dealing with a really stressful situation.

JR: Our team. We're an 8-bed unit, so we're on the smaller side and we're a tight-knit staff. Most of us have worked together for years and we work well together. I also enjoy the critical thinking part of the job. Every day, you walk into something different. It's not repetitive. 

JR: Ever since junior high I wanted to be a nurse and I honestly can't remember why. My grandma and my aunt were nurses and I have cousins who are nurses. It's just something I was exposed to when I was younger and it's just something that was around when I was growing up. 

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JR: When I'm not at the hospital, I try not to think about work as much as possible. I also try to work hard, play hard—so I like to travel.

There's a group of us in the PICU that plans trips together. I also like to be outdoors as much as possible and enjoy hiking. I like being out in nature, but I also sometimes like binge-watching TV. 

JR: I backpacked Kilimanjaro. I did a lot of training leading up to it. It's a 7-day trek up to the summit. We started our hike at midnight and then summited around 8 am. It was an amazing experience and it wasn't even all about the hiking. We went with a women's group and at the end of the trip we did an outing focusing on the women in the community there in Tanzania.