Pediatric Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant - Inpatient Pediatric Surgery

Discover Vanderbilt Health: With eight hospitals and over 180 clinics, we are the region’s largest comprehensive academic health system. Vanderbilt Health has a long tradition of providing world-class care to the people of the Mid-South, living out our mission of moving medicine forward through preeminent programs in patient care, education and research. Here you’ll find a spirit of collaboration and a supportive community where your expertise is valued, your knowledge expanded and your uniqueness celebrated. We are committed to fostering an environment where talented, compassionate people are united in bringing the most advanced care to our neighbors throughout the region.

Organization:

Pediatric Advanced Practice Surgery

Job Summary:

The Advanced Practice Provider (APP) is a key member of the multidisciplinary healthcare team, collaborating closely with physicians and other care providers to manage a distinct patient population in the inpatient acute care setting. Working with hospitalized patients, the APP provides specialized care and supports the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based medical services. This role requires a strong foundation in evidence-based practice and clinical education, with the APP responsible for adhering to established clinical pathways and protocols to ensure safe and effective patient care. The APP will demonstrate advanced medical knowledge, clinical and technical competence, sound clinical judgment, and professional communication skills. In addition, the APP is accountable for timely and compliant documentation and actively participates in professional development and competency validation to maintain high standards of care.

.

Qualified candidates must have didactic education, clinical competency, and national certification in Pediatric Acute Care Advanced Nursing Practice or be a certified Physician Assistant with pediatric clinical experience or rotations.

The APP is expected to demonstrate:
•    Strong medical knowledge
•    Sound clinical judgment
•    Technical competence in relevant procedures
•    Professionalism and effective interpersonal communication
•    Timely, accurate, and compliant documentation
•    Commitment to ongoing professional development and competency validation
 

Position Hours:

• .6 FTE (Approximately 24 Hours Per Week)
• 11am - 11pm

Department Summary:

The Department of Pediatric Surgery and Trauma is dedicated to promoting excellence in surgical and trauma care for children of all ages. Our Surgeons and Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) are specially trained in caring for newborns, infants, toddlers, children, and young adults, providing expertise across the full spectrum of pediatric general surgical conditions and traumatic injuries.

Our team performs a broad range of general surgical procedures and is committed to delivering high-quality, compassionate, and family-centered care. We strive for excellence not only in patient care, but also in clinical and basic science research, as well as the education and mentorship of medical students, residents, and fellows.

Our pediatric surgery experts treat conditions from the most common to the rarest surgical diagnoses and manage traumatic injuries of all kinds. Close collaboration is integral to our work: we partner with other surgical and medical specialties, as well as all ancillary services throughout the hospital, to ensure comprehensive and coordinated care for every patient.
 

• Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute Care CPNP-AC or Physician Assistant PA
• Prior APP Experience Strongly Preferred

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Obtains and documents a health history; performs and documents complete, system-focused, or symptom-specific physical examination, assessment and plan of care.
• In collaboration, provides healthcare services for primary, acute and complex care of patients and manages patients’ overall care, identifying expected outcomes for diagnoses.
• Orders, performs, interprets and collects data using appropriate assessment techniques, relevant supporting diagnostic information and diagnostic procedures where indicated.
• Forms differential diagnoses and treats acute and chronic conditions.
• Prescribes therapeutic interventions both pharmacologic, non-pharmacologic and surgical, needed to achieve expected outcomes.
• Utilizes evidence-based, approved practice protocols in planning and implementing care.
• Initiates appropriate referrals and consultations
• Provides specialty specific consultation services upon request and within a specialty scope of practice.
• Facilitates the patient’s transition between and within health care settings, such as admitting, transferring, and discharging patients.
• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

• Health Systems and Policy Management (Advanced): Demonstrates sufficient fundamental proficiency in behaviors that reflect a commitment to continuous professional development, ethical practice, an understanding and a responsible attitude toward their patients, their profession and society. Participates in professional organizations and activities that influence advanced practice.
• Patient and Family Centered Care (Advanced): Demonstrates care that is compassionate, appropriate and effective for the promotion of health, prevention of illness, treatment of disease and care at the end of life. Within scope of licensure and certification, manages previously diagnosed and undiagnosed patients. Uses health assessment skills to differentiate between normal, variations of normal, and abnormal findings. Employes screening and diagnostic strategies in the development of diagnoses. Prescribes medications within scope of practice. Manages health/illness status of patients and families over time and across the continuum. Provides patient/centered care recognizing the patient or designee as a full partner in decision making. Creates a climate of patient/centered care to include confidentiality privacy, comfort emotional support, mutual trust, and respect. Incorporates cultural and spiritual preferences, values and beliefs into health care. Preserves the patient’s control over decision making by negotiating a mutually acceptable plan of care. Integrates ethical principles into decision making. Uses electronic health record to capture data on variables for the evaluation and management of patient care. Clearly documents findings, assessment and plan of care.
• Clinical Knowledge and Practice (Advanced): Demonstrates established and evolving biomedical, clinical and social sciences, and the application of their knowledge to patient care and the education of others. Demonstrates knowledge of population focus but also other sciences that support his/her field of practice. Demonstrates knowledge of common and important health issues affecting society and other societies around the globe. Demonstrates commitment in maintaining current evidence-based knowledge through continuous learning. Educates patients, families, students and other members of the healthcare team in clinical topics and application of clinical knowledge.
• Practice-Based Scholarly Inquiry and Integration (Advanced): Demonstrates the use of scientific evidence and methods to investigate, evaluate and improve patient care practices. Anticipates variations in practice and is proactive in implementing interventions to improve quality. Uses best available evidence to continuously improve quality of clinical practice. Generates knowledge from clinical practice to improve practice and patient outcomes. Reviews data and evidence to improve advanced practice. Integrates knowledge from the humanities and sciences within the context of nursing science.
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills (Advanced): Demonstrates interpersonal and communication skills that enable them to establish and maintain professional relationships with patients, families, and other members of health care teams. Communicates practice knowledge effectively both orally and in writing.
• Professionalism (Advanced): Demonstrates behaviors that reflect a commitment to continuous professional development, ethical practice, and a responsible attitude toward their patients, their profession and society. Participates in medical center committees, professional organizations and activities that influence advanced practice.

Our Nursing Philosophy:  

We believe highly skilled and specialized nursing care is essential to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s mission of quality in patient care, education and research. We believe nursing is an applied art and science focused on helping people, families and communities reach excellent health and well-being. 

As a Vanderbilt University Medical Center employee, you make a difference to our patients and their families by bringing compassion and care to those in need of hope and healing. Please see our current employee benefits offered:

• Affordable High Quality Health Plan Options
• Dental and /or vision plan
• 403 (b) retirement plan
• Paid Time off (flex PTO)
• Tuition Reimbursement and adoption assistance (maximums applied)
• Short-Long term disability
• Subsidized backup childcare
• And many more...Ask us about our current inpatient nursing supplemental Pay Program!

Achieve the Remarkable: 

Learn more about VUMC Nursing here.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Executes job responsibilities with the understanding of how output would affect and impact other areas related to own job area/team with occasional guidance. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Analyzes moderately complex problems using technical experience and judgment. Breadth of Knowledge: Has expanded knowledge gained through experience within a professional area. Team Interaction: Provides informal guidance and support to team members.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues:- Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas.- Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships.- Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Services:- Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them.- Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.- Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly.- Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.- Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area.- Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation:- Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.- Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges.- Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

LIC-Licensed Nurse Practitioner - Tennessee, LIC-Physician's Assistant Certified - Tennessee, LIC-Registered Nurse - Tennessee

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level:

Less than 1 year

Education:

Master's

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity.  EOE/Vets/Disabled.