Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant - Anesthesiology Acute Pain Service, Full-time, Days

Company Description

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

Job Description

Northwestern Medicine has an exciting opportunity for either a Nurse Practitioner or a Physician Assistant to work in our Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine Division at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which provides comprehensive care for a wide range of surgical and medical patients. This includes perioperative assessment and management of patients presenting for various types of surgery, as well as management of non-surgical inpatients referred to the acute pain service. The APS at NMH has a high utilization of procedural and non-procedural acute pain interventions, including epidurals, peripheral nerve injections and catheters, ketamine infusions, and IV PCAs.

This position will work in collaboration and as a member of the APS team (Attending Physician, Fellow, Residents, APPs) to provide care for perioperative patients and other trauma and non-surgical patients with acute and acute-on-chronic pain. This will include assessment and management of epidural catheters, nerve blocks, nerve catheters, ketamine infusions, as part of a multimodal analgesic regimen tailored to each patient.

• Works in collaboration with the APS team to provide clinical care to inpatients referred to the APS.
• This care will include assessment and management of epidural catheters, nerve blocks, peripheral nerve catheters, ketamine infusions and consultations on trauma-related and acute-on-chronic pain.
• Provide comprehensive assessment and management of pain for hospitalized patients, integrating interventional techniques as part of a multimodal analgesic regimen as appropriate.
• In collaboration with the Acute Pain Service physicians, obtain a comprehensive health history, perform a physical examination, and establish a diagnosis and treatment plan.
• In collaboration with the APS team, establish and manage a follow-up plan based on the patient’s response.
• Document in the medical record the health history, physical exam findings, patient progress, and treatment plan and recommendations.
• Collaborate with the APS team to maintain good communication with patients, families, primary care providers, and other referral services while promoting an environment of mutual respect.
• Collaborate with physician and nursing leadership in developing and implementing patient care policies and procedures.
• Provide pain management-related nursing education.
• Participate in quality improvement and/or research projects, including initiation and assisting with problem identification and data collection as appropriate.
• Independently seek opportunities to expand own clinical knowledge and skills to achieve professional development goals.
• Participate in division/departmental/hospital committees as needed/requested.

Schedule: M-F, days; no nights/weekends/holidays; one day a week home pager call

Essential Functions: 

Demonstrates clinical expertise and expanded knowledge through patient care activities which may include diagnosis and management of a wide range of health problems. Responsible for health outcome of an assigned patient population. Confers with collaborating physician and other health professionals in area of clinical expertise. Develops appropriate educational systems for patients, families and staff in areas of expertise. Mentors graduate students in aspects of advanced practice and patient care. Actively participates in quality improvement and/or research pertinent to area of expertise. 

Responsibilities: 

Conducts comprehensive appraisals of patients' health status by taking health histories and performing physical examinations in clinical area. Provides direct clinical care to patients. Prescribes/orders medications, therapies; orders/interprets laboratory tests, x-rays and procedures according to clinical privileges. Evaluates patients to determine their need for further health care. Provides comprehensive teaching to patients and families. Documents in the medical record all care and education provided and/or procedures performed for which the Licensed Advanced Practice Provider is responsible. Refers to other disciplines as appropriate. Consultant to other disciplines in areas of expertise. Integrates rese