VMG Geriatric Nurse Practitioner (NP) or Physician Assistant (PA)

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

Medicine - Geriatrics

Job Summary:

The geriatric advanced practice provider (APP: Geriatric or Acute Care Nurse Practitioner or Physicians Assistant), will participate in the consult service at Vanderbilt University Hospital. The APP is an integral member of the consult service, working in collaboration with a geriatric physician. The APP will primarily support the transitions of care to nursing home consult service. The goal of this consultation is to enhance care continuity, ensure a safe and effective transition upon discharge from the inpatient to skilled nursing facility setting, including direct communication with the receiving facility, and ultimately reduce readmissions related to missed transfer of information on transition. The Geriatric APP may also be asked to participate in general geriatric consultations for hospitalized patients.

The Geriatric APP should show proficiency in ability to review a patient’s hospital course, summarize ongoing medical, functional, cognitive and psychosocial needs and highlight delirium risk and prevention strategies. The APP will then formulate tailored recommendations for the skilled nursing facility team, taking into consideration the model of care in this setting. At the time of transfer, the APP will provide verbal or secure electronic handoff to the receiving SNF provider.

A successful APP in this role will have a strong foundation in evidence-based practice and geriatric syndromes. The APP should demonstrate an advanced level of medical and nursing knowledge, clinical/technical competence, sound clinical judgment, professional communication skills, timely and compliant documentation, and be responsible for professional development and competency validation.

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• Assessment of Health Status

• Performs and documents in the medical record consultations in the inpatient setting for acute and complex adults.

• Orders and collects data using appropriate assessment techniques, relevant supporting diagnostic information and diagnostic procedures where indicated.

• Assesses for risks associated with the care of the acute and complex chronically ill patient including: medication side effects, immobility, impaired nutrition, fluid and electrolyte imbalance, immunocompetence, invasive interventions and diagnostic procedures.

• Diagnosis

• Collaborates with interdisciplinary health care team in making diagnoses of acute and complex chronic conditions.

• Manages diagnostic tests through ordering, interpretation, performance, and supervision.

• Formulates differential diagnoses by priority.

• Diagnoses complications and orders appropriate interventions

• Formulates a plan of care

• Identifies expected outcomes from diagnosis and formulates and documents a plan of care to address complex acute and chronic health care needs.

• Utilizes evidenced based practice guidelines or protocols in an individualized, dynamic plan of care that can be applied across the continuum.

• Implements and modifies plan of care

• Prescribes diagnostic strategies and therapeutic interventions both pharmacologic, non-pharmacologic and surgical, needed to achieve expected outcomes.

• Manages further diagnostic tests through ordering, interpretation, performance, and supervision.

• May perform advanced procedures consistent with privileges and competency validation including minor suturing, complex wound management, line and tube placements and removals.

• Communication and Collaboration

• Maintains ongoing communication and collaboration with interdisciplinary health care team .

• Facilitates and communicates with patient, family and staff to promote continuity of care across the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care.

• Documentation

• Documents/dictates key components of patient's progress via daily progress note, transfer, and di