PRN Nurse Practitioner - VPEC Peri-op Services

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Organization:

VPEC

Job Summary:

The nurse practitioner (NP) within the acute care hospital setting works in collaboration with, and is an integral member of, a multidisciplinary health care team. The NP functions primarily as a hospitalist in an inpatient setting, managing the care of acute/complex chronically ill patients. The NP is typically on a service aligned team managing the patient care from step down to discharge. The NP may have responsibilities for same patient population during follow up outpatient visits. The NP has a strong foundation in evidenced based practice/education and provides an environment of safe quality care. The NP demonstrates an advanced level of medical and nursing knowledge, clinical/technical competence, sound clinical judgment, professional communication skills, timely and compliant documentation, and is responsible for professional development and competency validation.

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Position Hours

• PRN (As Needed)

Department Summary

VPEC has two locations: The Vanderbilt Clinic (TVC) and One Hundred Oaks (OHO), both are fully staffed clinics with 11 Nurse practitioners, 5 registered nurses and multiple MAs and PSRs. The staff at either location performs: vitals, images, sleep apnea screening and a complete review of systems and history and physical on patients undergoing elective surgeries. The nurse practitioners performs these visits in person, while the registered nurses use a virtual phone call model. We can also arrange for lab work and x-rays to be done at the time of the VPEC visit or through a local primary care doctor for our phone call patients. We gather any outside testing and can order electrocardiograms, cardiac consults, stress tests and echocardiograms if felt needed by the attending anesthesiologist.

Patients are usually referred to the clinic by one of our surgeons for medical optimization prior to the day of surgery. This process allows our team of Nurse Practitioners to ensure that preoperative patients are properly evaluated, educated and that all necessary testing and patient information are in hand before procedures. This is a free evaluation to assess the patients overall risk for surgery. This better ensures patient safety and helps prevent surgical delays and cancellations on the day of surgery. Once the patient evaluation is completed at VPEC, it becomes part of the patients electronic medical record and is accessible by any Vanderbilt medical provider.

VPEC has received several significant industry accolades, including the 2014 Top Performer Award and the coveted 5-Star Award for Overall Quality of Care. This means a score in the 90th 99th percentile based on results and as compared to similar centers nationwide. The award was given to both VPEC clinic sites. VPEC leadership is frequently consulted by other hospitals wanting to improve their preoperative processes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assessment of Health Status
• Performs and documents in the medical record a complete history and physical examination for acute and complex chronically ill patients.
• Orders and collects data using appropriate assessment techniques, relevant supporting diagnostic information and diagnostic procedures where indicated.
• The nurse practitioner may serve as the first responder for both nursing and house staff in the event of patient status changes, orders, and in situations requiring procedural and resuscitative interventions.
• 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.
• Coordinates daily rounds with the Attending physician teams, presents 24 hour patient report, collaborates in plan of care, and follows assigned patient population throughout the day.