Physician Assistant - General Surgery

About the role

The West Virginia University Health System, the state's largest health system and largest private employer, comprises 18 hospitals throughout the state and bordering states. In addition, it includes five institutes, as well as providing management services for other local hospitals through affiliate agreements. Whether you are caring for our patients at one of the critical access hospitals, community sites, regional or academic medical centers, we are all one WVU Health System. Work Here. Thrive Here.

Responsibilities

• Provides healthcare services consistent with state law and the requirements of the professional licensing or certification authority and/or hospital privileges, where applicable.
• Completes daily rounds; consults and/or pre-procedure/evaluations.
• Completes integrated assessments.
• Orders additional tests or consults as deemed appropriate.
• Communicates results of diagnostic tests following established clinical guidelines and scope of practice.
• Communicates with clinic and hospital staff regarding abnormal findings in the evaluations of patients.
• Performs and documents comprehensive clinical evaluations in the medical record.
• Counsels and coordinates appropriate services and tests prior to discharge necessary for outpatient follow-up appointments (as applicable).
• Develops and implements a comprehensive individualized plan of care for surgical patients, which includes teaching, discharge planning, and necessary referrals to other members of the health care team (as necessary).
• Evaluates surgical patients and serves as a coordinator for follow-up procedures and tests in the ambulatory setting (as applicable).
• Assists in the collection of outcome measures (as applicable).
• Demonstrates expertise in caring for patients across the age continuum of their educational experience and certification.
• Identifies unstable or complex surgical patient care situations and facilitates appropriate intervention in the clinic and/or hospital setting.
• Recognizes emergency situations and initiates effective emergency care.
• Documents the plan of care, interventions, and evaluations in a clear and concise manner for every patient visit in the patient’s medical record following approved hospital/UHA policies and compliance standards for documentation.
• Collaborates with other leaders and staff to effectively achieve patient outcome-based improvements in care.
• Serves as a resource person for staff caring for the surgical patient.
• Provides educational programs to professional and paraprofessional personnel in area of expertise.
• Participates in community programs, distribution of literature, as appropriate in area of expertise.
• Reviews and interprets surgical data from sources such as patient registries, clinical and financial reports, length of stay, access to care, and cost per case reports and recommends/implements changes as necessary.
• Participates in clinical trials and research studies with the Principal Investigator.
• Assists surgery Faculty, Administrators and Directors in the collection of outcome measures.

Qualifications

• Graduate of an ARC-PA approved Physician Assistant (PA) training program required.
• Must be licensed or eligible for licensure by the WV Board of Medicine or WV Board of Osteopathic Medicine.
• American Heart Association BLS Certification required.
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) at the discretion of the department.