Np Or Pa - 24-Hour Observation Unit (Night Shift)

Job Summary:

The Nurse Practitioner provides clinical services to the appropriate programs and its patients/in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. The Nurse Practitioner is actively involved in providing formal and informal care, education and participates in the review and development of specific policies, procedures, and practice guidelines. The incumbent in this position must be able to demonstrate effective interpersonal skills and an understanding of the interdependent roles of various allied health professions.

This individual will assess physical, psychosocial, cognitive, and functional components, develop a treatment plan, order and interpret diagnostic components of the plan, and prescribe non-pharmacological and pharmacological agents.

The Nurse Practitioner functions professionally under a practice agreement with the supervising physician and operationally under the Vice President Nursing Services and/or the designee.

• In collaboration with physician, demonstrates ability to consul patients and family members about diagnosis, testing, surgery and risk of procedures.
• Orders and provides preliminary interpretation of diagnostic studies.
• Prescribes non-pharmacological therapies and pharmacological agents within the defined scope of service and according to guidelines established by the supervising physician.
• Meets all the requirements of the practice agreement with the supervising physician under the regulations and requirements of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
• Provides relevant patient and family education; makes appropriate referrals to other professional and community agencies.
• Formulates appropriate differential diagnosis, develop treatment plan to include appropriate diagnostics; identifies non-pharmacological interventions, appropriate pharmacological agents and education. The plan is based on mutually established priorities to maximize the heath potential of the patient.
• Provides emergency treatments and initiates emergency life saving measures per ACLS guidelines.
• Performs comprehensive health assessments for the purpose of diagnosing and treating individuals.
• Demonstrates the ability to use effective organizational/prioritization problem-solving and decision-making abilities in practice.

• Prepare patients for discharge from the hospital
• Perform, record and dictate physical examinations
• Evaluate patients who require a surgical consult
• Obtain, record and dictate medical histories
• Make daily rounds, record progress notes, write routine comfort and diet orders, order laboratory tests and non-invasive examinations, write approved routine orders, and change dressings
• Dictate discharge and transfer summaries

• Place and remove chest tubes and monitoring lines
• Debride, irrigate and pack surgical wounds
• Insert IV needles and catheters
• Remove intra-aortic balloon pump
• Remove drainage catheters
• Perform venipunctures
• Apply and change dressings
• Pass nasogastric tubes
• Remove sutures and staples
• Catheterize urinary bladder
• Irrigate chest tubes and catheters

• Request consults from health agencies and act as liaison
• Act as liaison between nursing and physicians
• Make and receive phone calls to/from patients, physicians and nurses for information, advise, triage
• Educate patient/family regarding disease, procedures, medication, nutrition, healthcare, and post-discharge care
• Act as liaison between patients and physicians
• Dictate letters to physicians, patients

• Maintain statistics
• Maintain written material; teach devices and special equipment for use of personnel and patients.
• Complete insurance forms and home health forms

• Proficient leadership skills
• Registered Nurse licensed to practice in Virginia or eligible, required
• MSN, required
• Recent adult medical-surgical experience (5 years of experience), required
• Ability to work cooperatively/collaboratively as part of a team, developing productive working relationships with diverse groups of people.
• Ability to work effectively in emergency situations and under stress
• Current Virginia state certification as an Adult Nurse Practitioner, required
• AHA BLS Provider required at hire