Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant - Full-Time - AVALA Pain - RO43

Summary 

The Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant is responsible for caring for patients, maintaining accurate and current patient records and scheduling and administering follow-up appointments to patients as required. They work as a team with our nurses/medical assistants and physicians in delivering premium care to patients.    

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide care to patients acting as an assistant to physicians following established standards and practices
• Conducts thorough medical histories, performs physical examinations, initiates appropriate lab, radiology tests or other special tests required for evaluation of pain to develop a working diagnosis and treatment plan with direct review by a physician  
• Must be able to work with autonomy and under direction of supervising physician  
• Interrogate, manage, and refill spinal intrathecal infusion devices
• Administer Joint, trigger point, Botox, and other in-house injections
• Assess post-operative patients
• Recommend surgical procedures and other appropriate treatment
• Perform peer-to-peer conferences and assist with necessary items to obtain authorization
• Provides information and answers routine questions of patients regarding pain management issues
• Educate patients regarding their pain, treatments, related drug and treatment side effects and hazards
• Performs appropriate record keeping, completes appropriate patient medical chart, transcribes lab data and routine correspondences  
• Demonstrates compassion and professionalism and a commitment to excellent patient care
• Document examination results, treatment plans, and patients' outcomes
• Examine patients to assess mobility, strength, communication, or cognition
• Assess characteristics of patients' pain such as intensity, location, and duration using standardized clinical measures
• Adhere to CDC prescription guidelines
• Monitor effectiveness of pain management interventions such as medication, spinal injections, IT pumps, injections and SCS implants
• Follow through with the patient’s comprehensive plan for immediate and long-term rehabilitation
• Prescribe orthotic and prosthetic applications and adaptive equipment, such as wheelchairs, bracing, and communication devices, to maximize patient function and self-sufficiency
• Collect, order, and interpret lab work and diagnostic studies under agreed upon protocols
• May organize referrals and/or consultations when appropriate
• Will participate in research and education/training as requested
• Create and implement individualized care plans according to each individual patient’s health needs
• Monitor ongoing therapy and compliance of patients 
• Monitor patients to determine how well they are responding to prescribed treatments and make changes to ensure further efficacy
• Delegate's adequate authority to staff MAs to properly perform assigned responsibilities
• Complete appropriate encounter documentation and prepare medications to be sent in a timely manner 
• Performs other duties as required by the Medical Director, Staff Physicians, Practice Manager  
• Other duties as assigned/ required

The above statements are only meant to be a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job. The incumbents may be requested to perform job related tasks other than those stated in this description. 

Qualifications

• Ability to work within a team and take direction
• Must be familiar with the EHR medical charting system
• Strong written and interpersonal communication skills
• Ability to demonstrate reliability and responsiveness 
• Demonstrates sound judgment in respecting the confidentiality of patient and employee information
• Seeks guidance and direction in the performance of responsibilities and duties
• Promotes and demonstrates exceptional customer service skills
• Shares and receives information, concerns and feedback in a supportive manner
• Educated on and compliant with HIPAA regulations; maintains strict confidentiality of client information
• Complies with Infection Control, Standard Precautions and OSHA standards for the healthcare professional
• Ability to work effectively within role independently and with other team members
• Ability to organize and complete work in a timely manner

Core Competencies

Action Orientation - Targets and achieves results, overcomes obstacles, accepts responsibility, establishes standards and responsibilities, creates a results-oriented environment, and follows through on actions.

Communications - Communicates well both verbally and in writing. Effectively conveys and shares information and ideas with others. Listens carefully and understands various viewpoints. Presents ideas clearly and concisely and understands relevant detail in presented information.

Creativity/Innovation - Generates novel ideas and develops or improves existing and new systems that challenge the status quo, takes risks, and encourages innovation.

Critical Judgment - Possesses the ability to define issues and focus on achieving workable solutions. Consistently does the right thing by performing with reliability.

Customer Orientated - Listens to customers, builds customer confidence, increases customer satisfaction, ensures commitments are met, sets appropriate customer expectations, and responds to customer needs.

Interpersonal Skills - Effectively and productively engages with others and establishes trust, credibility, and confidence with others.

Leadership - Motivates, empowers, inspires, collaborates with, and encourages others. Builds consensus when appropriate. Focuses team members on common goals.

Teamwork - Knows when and how to attract, develop, reward, and utilize teams to optimize results. Acts to build trust, inspire enthusiasm, encourage others, and help resolve conflicts and develop consensus in creating high-performance teams.

Professional/Regulatory Requirements

• 2 years Pain Management experience preferred
• Graduation from an approved NP/PA Program 
• Meet Louisiana Licensing requirements applicable to a practicing NP/PA 
• Cardiac Life Support (ACLS PALS) Certification.
• Current Certification by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners or American Nurse Credentialing Center, (NP), or Current Certification by the National Commission of Physician’s Assistants

Skills

• Ability to communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing
• Basic computer knowledge

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. This position is very active and requires repetitive motions, standing, walking, bending, kneeling and stooping all day. The employee must frequently lift or move items weighing up to 100 pounds.