Nurse Practitioner

The Role

You will provide direct care via telemedicine to patients suffering from advanced chronic lung and heart disease. You will collaborate closely with other medical team members, often speaking multiple times per day with the supervising nurse practitioners, physicians, and medical directors.

• Performing telemedicine visits with our patients, including intake H&P and follow-up care
• Serving as the provider of record and maintaining a sizable active panel of patients
• Assessing, diagnosing, and treating adult outpatients with multiple chronic medical conditions, with an emphasis on lung disease
• Coinciding care with primary care providers, specialists, and external care agencies
• Advocating for patients who are experiencing major social stressors by activating community resources to improve access to medications, transportation, healthy nutrition, and safe housing
• Serving as the continuous point of contact for patients and families across the entire care spectrum, ranging from transitional post-acute care, to medical stabilization, to rehabilitation, to advanced care planning and dying with dignity
• Engaging with our interdisciplinary team of physicians, engineers, designers, and other care team members to continuously optimize the care we deliver to our patients

Intimately Related to Patient Care

Here are a few examples of our recent success stories:

• A socially isolated 50-year-old woman with COPD and several overlapping anxiety disorders was frequently seen in the ED with dyspnea related to panic attacks and psychological distress. Multiple psychotropic medications were added over time, leading her to feel like a “zombie” and drink 10 caffeinated soft drinks per day to compensate, which fueled a vicious cycle of anxiety. The patient’s Ansible clinician connected her to a psychotherapist, convinced her to adopt a dog, and collaborated with her providers to discontinue and taper off several medications. The patient is now doing well at home, no longer going to the ED, and on a much safer medication regimen.
• A 67-year-old man with very severe COPD and pulmonary cachexia (BMI 17.3 kg/m2) was declined for lung transplantation due to being severely underweight and unable to access a pulmonary rehabilitation facility. The patient lived in a rural Appalachian town with no cellular or internet service. The patient’s Ansible clinician found a public library 3 miles from the patient that housed a WiFi-enabled conference room for telemedicine. The clinician coordinated transportation with his church, provided guidance on nutritional supplementation, and supervised the patient through pulmonary telerehabilitation. The patient’s functional status improved, his BMI increased to 21.5 kg/m2, and he was listed for transplantation.

Responsibilities

You will join a diverse, talented, and meritocratic team of clinicians from all walks of life who are excited about working at the frontier of healthcare. This is a challenging role that will involve a very steep learning curve, feeling more like a training program for the first year. As with any innovation, a degree of organized chaos is expected. Changing the culture of healthcare is hard. It will often feel like it is “us against the world”, but you will be in good company. You bring your energy, wisdom, and passion for learning. We will bring intensive mentorship to grow your skills and help you to become the best clinician possible. This is a fantastic opportunity for an entrepreneurial and self-directed advanced care practitioner who is excited to be at the absolutely leading edge of the future of healthcare.

Required Qualifications, Experience & Certifications

• Completion of an accredited graduate level (Masters Degree) Nurse Practitioner program
• License /Certification: License in the state of Virginia and Pennsylvania Full/Independent Practice Authority within 6 months of appointment Active national certification through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB)
• 5+ years of experience caring for adult patients with medical illness across the acute and chronic spectrum, substantiated by a strong foundation in Primary Care, Internal Medicine, Geriatric, and Urgent Care practice environments
• 1+ years of experience caring for adult outpatients with chronic cardiopulmonary conditions such as COPD, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease
• Maintenance of certification and continuing nursing education
• Reliable high-speed internet connection (at least 25 Mbps)

Preferred Qualifications, Experience & Certifications

• Completion of a doctoral level Nurse Practitioner program
• Licenses /Certifications: ANCC Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Practitioner and/or Family Practice Nurse Practitioner (FNP) License in the state of Virginia and Pennsylvania
• 3+ years of independent practice experience in the Primary Care or Internal Medicine settings
• 5+ years of experience in the management of patients with chronic cardiopulmonary diseases such as COPD, interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, pulmonary hypertension, congestive heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and post-cardiothoracic surgery
• Proficiency with telemedicine and/or remote care extension
• Prior experience coordinating designated health services such as home health, outpatient respiratory care, and DME
• Prior experience operating within Cardiac or Pulmonary Rehabilitation programs
• Prior experience or training in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement
• Leadership role or team experience within multidisciplinary chronic disease management programs encompassing advanced care planning, exercise, nutrition, and psychosocial dimensions of chronic illness
• Understanding or research methodology, clinical research experience, and publications in the field of chronic disease management for the conditions outlined above