Nurse Practitioner-Surgery-Cardiac
$72.90 - $109.36
Mid
Master's, PhD
Visalia, CA, USA
In Person
Medical, Clinical & VeterinaryAdvanced Practice Providers
About the job
Requirements
- A California Nurse Practitioner license and California Nurse Practitioner Furnishing Number are required.
- Drug Enforcement Administration registration is required.
- A California registered nurse license is required.
- Basic Life Support certification is required.
- Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support certification is required.
- Completion of credentialing through the Medical Staff Interdisciplinary Practice Committee is required.
- One year of recent registered nurse specialty experience in an adult, critical care, or medical-surgical setting is required.
- Strong written and oral communication and effective interpersonal relationship skills are required.
- Critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills are required.
- Computer literacy is required.
- The ability to provide care appropriate to the developmental level and needs of the population served is required.
- Knowledge of Joint Commission standards, California's Nursing Practice Act, applicable California regulations, federal guidelines and regulations including HIPAA, American Nurses Association Scope and Standards of Practice, specialty-area policies and procedures, and national specialty standards is required.
- Knowledge of growth and development and the cultural, linguistic, spiritual, gender, and age-specific needs of patients and families is required.
Responsibilities
- Use patient knowledge and assessments to design, implement, and evaluate specialty-related plans of care, applying advanced knowledge of physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment.
- Manage patients with disease states and non-disease-based etiologies to improve health outcomes and promote health care outcomes.
- Collaborate consistently with the interdisciplinary team on the most complex patients within the specialty area.
- Focus on population health management across the care continuum.
- Collaborate with medical staff, nursing units, and ancillary departments to facilitate problem-solving.
- Design, implement, and evaluate innovative individual or population-based care programs to achieve high-quality, cost-effective outcomes.
- Provide relevant patient instruction and education.
- Coordinate patient care by ordering, interpreting, and evaluating laboratory tests and radiographic studies, following up on abnormal findings, and expediting treatment.
- Order transfers within the hospital or to other facilities at the appropriate level of care.
- Consult with medical staff, medical residents, nursing, case management, social work, and clinical documentation staff to meet documentation and throughput goals.
- Complete histories and physicals or medical screening examinations, discharge summaries and instructions, and patient prescriptions as indicated to enhance throughput.
- Document required medical-record components to meet documentation standards for the assigned diagnosis-related group or all-patient refined diagnosis-related group, including appropriate patient status and level of care.
- Document and order required components to meet Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, core measure, and Value-Based Purchasing requirements.
- Consult, educate, coach, and mentor staff nurses through direct clinical practice to achieve optimal patient outcomes.
- Develop and help implement health care standards, order sets, and clinical pathways; facilitate goal setting, measure achievement, and evaluate outcomes.
- Advance nursing practice through evidence-based interventions, best-practice guidelines, and modifications to professional standards and organizational policies that direct care by nursing personnel and other health care providers.
- Use clinical inquiry and research in an advanced specialty practice area and promote understanding and use of evidence-based practice.
- Review specialty-area standards of practice and national guidelines to assess appropriateness and reflect current nursing practice.
- Lead multidisciplinary groups to facilitate collaboration and outcomes across the care continuum.
- Perform consultative functions and provide clinical expertise and recommendations to physicians, other health care providers, patients, and health care organizations.
- Attend appropriate medical staff committees and complete and maintain procedural training appropriate to the population served, such as cardiac stress testing.
- When performing registered nurse first-assist duties, assist with cardiovascular surgical procedures as directed by the surgeon and function as first assistant in general and obstetric surgical suites.
- Provide intraoperative tissue retraction, hemostasis, and tissue manipulation using surgical instruments and suture material as directed by the surgeon; assist with wound closure and suture tissue as directed.
- For preoperative duties, review the procedure; open and set up the operating room; perform preoperative counts or patient assessment in coordination with the circulating registered nurse; transfer and position the patient; and assist with anesthesia induction when requested by the circulating registered nurse.
- For intraoperative duties, scrub in, assist with patient draping and the surgeon within standardized procedures, and assist with counts as needed.
- For postoperative duties, apply dressings, transfer the patient from the operating room bed, accompany the patient to the post-anesthesia care unit if required, and clean and turn over the operating room.
- Assist with specialty procedures, including minimally invasive vein or arterial harvesting, deep fascia closure, insertion of invasive monitoring lines, and cardiac sternal wound closure.
- When assisting with registered nurse circulator duties, assess patient needs, recognize abnormal diagnostic data and potential problems related to surgery, and communicate relevant information to the physician and surgical team.
- Modify assessment criteria to reflect the patient's age and psychosocial and physical needs.
- Implement the patient's plan of care by evaluating responses to care and organizing or adjusting assignments according to patient needs.
- Facilitate safe patient transfer to the appropriate postoperative unit and communicate with receiving patient-care staff.
- Use patient-care equipment and instrumentation competently; know emergency equipment and supplies, including crash, airway-management, and malignant-hypothermia carts; and report malfunctioning or defective equipment promptly in writing.
- Administer medications correctly, including prescribed intravenous medications, and know the actions, indications, precautions, adverse reactions, dosage, and route of each medication before administration.
- Maintain clear communication and rapport with patients and families, provide and document emotional support, and keep them informed of progress.
- Ensure patient hygiene needs are met and the immediate environment is clean and safe.
- Maintain complete medical records and coordinate and document patient admission, transfer, and discharge, including observations, assessments, treatments, and outcomes.
- For cardiac catheterization laboratory duties, coordinate the clinical program and ensure processes support smooth operations and patient flow for cardiology services involving transcatheter aortic valve replacement devices.
- Develop methods for prompt access to care and coordinated patient flow across physicians' clinical sites.
- Develop collaborative partnerships with inpatient and outpatient facilities implementing heart valve devices and develop and implement clinical guidelines.
- Align the electronic medical record to support care delivery.
- Facilitate establishment of clinical-trial protocols at all sites in partnership with the Valve Consortium.
- Provide clinical program input to the marketing team to keep web and related marketing tools current.
- Develop and oversee clinical programs at affiliated hospitals.
- Direct the development of educational materials and develop education materials and training programs for patient-care staff participating in clinical trials, both inpatient and outpatient.
- Help develop valve programs at affiliated hospitals that provide a patient referral base.
- Provide program and clinical input to quality-assurance and quality-check teams to keep web and related marketing tools current.
- Adapt care and services to the developmental level and needs of the population served, communicate respectfully, ensure a safe and secure environment, partner with patients, caregivers, and management in care decisions, individualize care plans, modify interventions, and provide education based on learner needs.
- Demonstrate professional citizenship and fiscal responsibility by focusing on health policy or resource management to support quality, cost-effective nursing care outcomes.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Desired Qualifications
- National Nurse Practitioner certification from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners or the American Nurses Credentialing Center is preferred.
- Completion of a recognized registered nurse first-assist training program is preferred.
- A Master of Science in Nursing or Doctor of Nursing Practice is preferred.
- One year of recent practice as a Nurse Practitioner emphasizing adult assessment and management of medical or surgical conditions, and/or clinical experience in cardiac surgery or a cardiothoracic intensive care unit, is preferred.
About the company
Kaweah Health is a public, not-for-profit health system based in Visalia, California, serving the Central Valley since 1963. It operates a 581-bed medical center, a large outpatient clinic, and several facilities, offering emergency care, cancer treatment, cardiovascular services, rehabilitation, and other medical services. It is the largest hospital system in Tulare County and a certified trauma center. As a not-for-profit, it reinvests earnings back into the community to fund new services, facilities, and programs, with a strategic focus on accessible, high-quality healthcare. The organization has launched an financial recovery plan, “Operation Back in Black,” to improve finances through revenue enhancement and cost reduction, and partners with Medline to enhance supply chain and operational efficiency. Its goal is to provide broad, high-quality healthcare to its community while strengthening financial sustainability and expanding services as needed.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$8.7M
Headquarters
Visalia, California
Founded
1963
Get referred to Kaweah Health
See people who can refer or advise you
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Kaweah reported $1.1 million profit for fiscal 2026's first six months.
- Vacant-position cuts, not layoffs, helped offset projected $25 million Medicaid pressure.
- Akers Clinic, Tulare therapy, and lab consolidation expand outpatient capacity in 2026.
What critics are saying
- Gary Herbst retires June 30, 2026, forcing a nationwide CEO search during recovery.
- Burger wrongful-death litigation and RN licensing actions spotlight emergency-department failures in 2025.
- One budget shock or payer-rate cut could revive 2023 default fears and closure talk.
What makes Kaweah Health unique
- Visalia's only trauma center and largest Tulare County hospital anchors regional care.
- 2026 youth mental-health expansion adds 22 beds and admits children as young as 12.
- Kaweah's residency, nursing, and clinic pipeline deepens local training and physician recruitment.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?
Benefits
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- Paid Vacation
- Paid Sick Leave
- Paid Holidays
- Flexible Work Hours