Physician Assistant - Cardiology Hospitalist

At Duke Health, we're driven by a commitment to compassionate care that changes the lives of patients, their loved ones, and the greater community. No matter where your talents lie, join us and discover how we can advance health together.

About Duke University Hospital

Pursue your passion for caring with Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which is consistently ranked among the best in the United States. The largest of the four Duke Health hospitals with 1062 patient beds, it features comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, including a regional emergency/trauma center, an endo-surgery center, and more.

About the role

The Advanced Practice Provider (APP) is a Nurse Practitioner (NP) or Physician Assistant (PA) who provides direct patient care services and performs medical acts under the supervision of the supervising physician to patients on the cardiology service. This position will work with cardiology patients and will rotate with all of the cardiology services including general cardiology, Electrophysiology (EP), Advanced Heart Failure (HF), Ventricular Assist Device (VAD), and the Heart Transplant teams. Areas of clinical work include: all Duke University Hospital inpatient units, Emergency Department, the Cardiovascular Short Stay Unit, and all Hospital-based Cardiology clinics.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate new patients, consult and established patients on the cardiovascular service as well as diagnose, treat, and manage common conditions in the cardiovascular patient population.
• Perform an appropriate history and physical exam on all assigned patients.
• Write progress notes; prepare patient workups and summaries noting pertinent positive and negative findings; obtain a psychosocial history relevant to patient care.
• Assume responsibility for developing therapeutic relationships with patients.
• Facilitate and order diagnostic studies including echocardiograms, cardiolite stress test, magnetic resonance imaging, and cardiac catheterization if indicated; review with attending MD.
• Order and schedule laboratory studies and diagnostic procedures.
• Explain necessity, preparation, nature, and anticipated effects of scheduled diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to the patient and family.
• Work closely with the inpatient rounding teams including attendings, APPs, residents, and Fellows to appropriately allocate workload based on daily census, clinical, and operational needs.
• Assist in the training of new employees, students, and fellow trainees, to the limits of competence, and actively participate in educational conferences.
• Discharge all assigned admitted/procedural/surgical patients, as directed by the Attending physician, including dictating discharge summary, patient education, patient wound care instructions, prescriptions, and entering discharge orders.
• In collaboration with attending and/or residents, round daily on patients to assess, diagnose, plan treatment, set priorities and realistic outcomes, and evaluate the effectiveness and cost efficiency of patient care.
• Provide and coordinate clinical care for service-specific patients through established protocols and under the hospitalist supervising physician or backup physician who is either on site or available by pager.
• Collaborate with the chief resident, residents, fellows, attending, other NP/PA colleagues, nurses, and patient resource managers to formulate treatment plans and monitor patient progress.
• Perform procedures specific to the work environment after demonstrated competency and within the guidelines of scope of practice and credentialing protocols.
• Analyze clinical practice patterns to provide the best medical care and increase effectiveness and efficiency.
• Prescriptive authority for prescribing, ordering, and/or administering drugs; including (but not limited to) schedule II, III, IV, and V drugs and necessary medical devices.
• Give daily handoff to appropriate attending, resident, and/or intern at the end of the shift.

Requirements

• PA: Graduate of ARC-accredited Master’s Degree or Doctoral Degree Physician Assistant program.
• NP: Graduate of accredited MSN or DNP Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program for adult care.
• PA: PA-C certification.
• NP: ACNP or AGACNP certification.
• PA: Unrestricted medical license issued by NCMB with approval to practice as PA.
• NP: Unrestricted RN licensure issued by or recognized by the NCBON with approval to practice as an NP.
• Both: Federal and State DEA with full prescriptive authority.
• Strongly prefer candidate with at least one year of provider experience in a cardiology setting, but will also consider a new or recent graduate with relevant nursing experience or clinical rotations.

Skills

• Able to clearly articulate scope of practice and practices within those guidelines as a Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant in the state of North Carolina and within Duke University Health System.
• Able to independently seek out resources and work collaboratively to solve complex problems.
• Able to communicate clearly with patients, families, visitors, healthcare team, physicians, administrators, leadership, and others.
• Able to use sensory and cognitive functions to process and prioritize information, perform health assessments, treatment, and follow-up.
• Able to use fine motor skills.
• Able to record activities, document assessments and interventions; prepare reports and presentations.
• Able to use computer and learn new software programs.
• Able to provide leadership in clinical area of expertise and in meeting organizational goals.
• Able to navigate the Hospital and DUHS to provide clinical expertise to specific patient populations.
• Able to withstand prolonged standing and walking with the ability to move or lift at least fifty pounds.
• Able to remain focused and organized.
• Able to work collaboratively with all levels of personnel.

Schedule

Primary hours will be 14 twelve-hour day shifts per month covering Monday-Sunday (7 days a week) including holidays. Administrative or clinical leadership may change schedule to meet department needs.