Advanced Practice Provider (NP/PA) - General Neurology Consult - Inpatient 2

About the role

The Medical College of Wisconsin's Department of Neurology is seeking a Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant to support the General Neurology Inpatient Service located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at Froedtert Hospital. The Advanced Practice Provider (APP) works as a member of a multidisciplinary health care team who will contribute to excellence in program administration, patient care, patient safety, research, quality improvement, and teaching.

Ideal candidate

The Ideal Candidate will have a passion for working with neurologically and medically complex patients and bring prior experience as an APP/RN working with patients in either an inpatient (hospital-based) or outpatient (clinic-based) setting who wants to be part of a thriving and very collaborative academic practice at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW).

Practice setting

Practice inpatient on the General Neurology and Consult service serving at Froedtert Hospital-Main Campus as the primary location. The Department of Neurology is fortunate to have several fellowship-trained Neurologists specializing in Stroke and General Neurology, who can provide state-of-the-art treatments. The clinical expertise assembled in the Department of Neurology had resulted in JCAHO certification of Froedtert Hospital as the first Primary Stroke Center in Wisconsin in 2004.

Patient population

• Seizure/status epilepticus
• Mild, moderate, and severe traumatic brain injury
• Acute/chronic polyneuropathies
• Myasthenia gravis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Undifferentiated encephalopathy/altered mental status
• Meningitis/encephalitis
• Primary/secondary brain mass
• Hydrocephalus
• Guillain-Barre Syndrome
• Spinal cord injury

Responsibilities

• Support the General Neurology service by collaborating with a team of physicians, fellows, and residents to accept the transfer of patients from the Neuro ICU or alternative services, provide care for primary General neurology patients, assess new consults, follow-up on established consults, and discharge patients with complex general neurologic problems.
• Practice both autonomously and with physician oversight from the General Neurology attending to provide inpatient care by managing complex neurological issues, oversee non-neurological acute medical problems, discuss and develop active treatment plans, follow-up on laboratory and imaging results, prescribe multi-modal treatments including schedule II-V controlled substances (requires DEA certification), transcribe progress and transfer notes, and develop complex discharge plans including synthesis of a discharge summary, follow-up appointments, patient education, and medication reconciliation.
• Perform bedside procedures including but not limited to Lumbar Puncture.
• Facilitates and communicates with various inpatient teams, patients, patient families, and house staff to promote continuity of care across the continuum of care.
• Attend inpatient Neurology floor Care Coordination Rounds (CCRs) every afternoon in tandem with the Vascular service APP and additional care team members including the charge nurse, social work, therapies, dietician, and case management. Involvement provides a multi-disciplinary approach to determine a patient's recommended disposition, equipment needs, transportation needs, placement needs, and psychosocial needs. Additionally, the APP will share existing medical barriers to a patient's discharge and relay information discussed from the multidisciplinary care team rounds to the members of the General Neurology team.
• Work within a multi-disciplinary care team including resident physicians, physician fellows, medical students, APP students and complete comprehensive grand rounds on the General Neurology service to develop active patient care and discharge plans. Additional responsibilities include assessing new and established consult patients and completing discharges of primary patients in tandem with the resident physicians and APPs.
• Attend Neuro ICU didactic lectures and weekly Department of Neurology Grand Rounds to further clinical expertise and maintain minimum continuing medical education requirements.

Core advanced practice responsibilities

• Perform comprehensive history and physical exams, identify normal and abnormal findings, including physical, cognitive, and psychosocial status.
• Order, perform, and interpret screening and diagnostic procedures and tests, and appropriately communicate and document information.
• Write accurate and timely progress notes, procedure notes, and/or admission and transfer orders.
• Develop pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical treatment plans.
• Monitor the effectiveness of the care plan.
• Educate patients and their families on disease and treatment plans.
• Perform procedures as trained and obtain appropriate credentials (primarily bedside Lumbar Puncture).
• Document within the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and complete other necessary documents including activation of Healthcare Power of Attorney.
• Collaborate and/or consult with physicians and other health care providers as appropriate.
• Educates, counsels, and assists patients and families regarding current health problems, health maintenance activities, and preventive behaviors.
• Perform discharges for patients on the General Neurology service, assess medical criteria for progression beyond inpatient care, coordinate appropriate follow-up appointments, and refine medications in preparation for prescription upon discharge.
• Attend required training and meeting key regulatory requirements, including those of the privileged institution, CMS, and the Joint Commission.
• Participate in required onboarding classes throughout orientation including MCP Orientation, Froedtert Learning Center education, NIHSS certification, Lumbar Puncture training (optional), ECG courses, Empathy Training and BLS/ACLS renewal.
• Acquires information on the most current development and trends in the Physician Assistant field and/or Nurse Practitioner field, through participation in continuing education events including educational programs, in-services, professional associates, and current literature.

Schedule

Day shift only with the expectation to work every other weekend and rotating MCW-recognized holidays. Weekday schedules are variable and subject to discussion, pending weekend requirements, and additional APP hiring with potential to adapt 7/70 schedule (seven, 10-hour shifts followed by seven days off) versus four, 10-hour shifts per week. Hours are subject to change pending APP commitments, service acuities/census, and resident days off. Opportunity for further discussion regarding schedule flexibility and hours with the hiring manager.

Department highlights

The Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Neurology is the largest and most comprehensive Neurology group in the state of Wisconsin, with programs in Adult Neurology, Child Neurology, and Neuropsychology with more than 70 faculty. Our adult neurologists diagnose and treat all neurological conditions including stroke, epilepsy, sleep, neuromuscular diseases, movement disorders including Parkinson disease, dementia, brain tumors, neuro-ophthalmology, and multiple sclerosis, and neuroimmunological disorders. We work closely with our partners in neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry, radiation oncology, neuro-imaging, pathology, and ophthalmology across our missions of clinical, teaching and research.

Qualifications

Preferred: Preference for experience in Neurology inpatient or outpatient setting, though open to training newer providers.

Minimum Education

• Advanced Practice Nurse: Master's Degree or higher in Nursing from a nationally accredited organization.
• Physician Assistant: Bachelor's Degree or higher in Physician Assistant Studies from an ARC-PA-accredited organization.

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced Practice Nurse / Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner: Wisconsin RN License, Wisconsin Advanced Practice Nurse Prescriber License, American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS), DEA registration, Nurse Practitioner Certification from a nationally accredited professional nursing organization (Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP [AGACNP], Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP [AGPCNP], or Family NP [FNP])
• Physician Assistant: Wisconsin Physician Assistant License, Certification by National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS), DEA registration
• NIH Stroke Scale Certification Preferred Upon Hire.