Advanced Practice Clinician

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.

About the Role

The Advanced Practice Clinician (NP/PA) is service/physician aligned, managing a distinct patient population. The APC may be required to perform some outpatient and inpatient care and facilitate discharges/outpatient follow-up. The APC has a strong foundation in evidence-based practice/education and is responsible for ensuring adherence to clinical pathways/protocols and an environment of safe quality care. The APC demonstrates an advanced level of medical and nursing knowledge, clinical/technical competence, sound clinical judgment, professional communication skills, timely and compliant documentation, and responsibility for professional development and competency validation.

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.
  • Serves as the first responder for both nursing and 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 clinic schedule with the attending physician team, presents patient report, collaborates in the plan of care, and follows assigned patient population.
• Formulates 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 evidence-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.
  • Performs 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 the interdisciplinary health care team.
  • Facilitates and communicates with patient, family, and staff to promote continuity of care.
• Documentation:
  • Documents/dictates key components of patient's progress via daily progress note, transfer, and discharge summary, and/or clinic note where applicable (H&P, daily progress notes, plan of care, problem lists, procedure notes, acute event note, discharge summaries in the medical record per specific patient unit or service, death summary).
  • Ensures documentation is timely, meets critical care compliance standards, and captures patient acuity.
• Professional Practice:
  • Demonstrates professional practice behaviors including preceptor/mentoring, education, and instruction of students, nursing staff, nurses, graduate, and novice APCs.
  • Seeks opportunities for active engagement in research and the analysis of evidence-based practice.
  • Actively participates in Grand Rounds, APN council meetings, faculty and unit meetings, and M&M presentations.
  • Maintains CEUs and membership in a professional organization.

Requirements

• Certification as a Licensed Nurse Practitioner or Physician's Assistant in Tennessee.
• 1 year of relevant work experience.
• Master's degree.

Benefits

• Affordable, high-quality health plan options.
• Dental and/or vision plan.
• 403(b) retirement plan.
• Paid Time Off (flex PTO).
• Tuition reimbursement and adoption assistance (maximums applied).
• Short-term and long-term disability.
• Subsidized backup childcare.
• Inpatient nursing supplemental pay program.

Core Accountabilities

• Organizational Impact: Executes job responsibilities with the understanding of how output would affect and impact other areas related to own job area/team with occasional guidance.
• Problem Solving/Complexity of Work: Analyzes moderately complex problems using technical experience and judgment.
• Breadth of Knowledge: Has expanded knowledge gained through experience within a professional area.
• Team Interaction: Provides informal guidance and support to team members.

Skills

• Supporting Colleagues:
  • Develops self and others by investing time, energy, and enthusiasm to help improve performance and gain knowledge in new areas.
  • Builds and maintains relationships by maintaining regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities.
  • Communicates effectively by recognizing group interactions and modifying communication style to suit different situations and audiences.
• Delivering Excellent Services:
  • Serves others with compassion by seeking to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizing services accordingly.
  • Solves complex problems by approaching them from different angles and identifying new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.
  • Offers meaningful advice and support by providing ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness.
• Ensuring High Quality:
  • Performs excellent work by engaging regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality and directly addressing quality issues promptly.
  • Ensures continuous improvement by applying various learning experiences, looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems, and identifying ways to resolve them.
  • Fulfills safety and regulatory requirements by understanding all aspects of providing a safe environment and performing routine safety checks to prevent hazards.
• Managing Resources Effectively:
  • Demonstrates accountability by focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.
  • Stewards organizational resources by applying understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources.
  • Makes data-driven decisions by demonstrating a strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities.
• Fostering Innovation:
  • Generates new ideas by proactively identifying opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.
  • Applies technology by demonstrating enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges.
  • Adapts to change by viewing difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement and actively embracing change instead of emphasizing negative elements.