Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant - Outpatient Palliative Care

As a part of Duke Health’s outpatient clinic network, you will enjoy competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits plans, convenient work hours, and many opportunities for career advancement. Become a part of a team that values and invests in you.

Duke Advanced Practice Highlights:

• The nation’s first Physician Assistant Program was created at Duke in 1965 and is consistently ranked No. 1 in the country.
• The Duke School of Nursing is consistently ranked as one of the top nursing schools and their MSN and DNP programs offers eight advanced practice registered nurse majors and specialty certifications, as well as post master’s certificates and certification alignment programs.
• Commitment to ongoing learning for APPs through annual CME funding and access to high-quality Duke CME offerings including APP Grand Rounds and a professional advancement program.  APPs are leaders in multiple arenas within Duke.
• Duke offers APPs opportunities to practice within team based integrative care in a tremendous variety of specialties.  APPs are expected to work to top of scope in order to contribute to Duke’s missions which include clinical practice, education, and research.
• Practice locations can include Duke Health’s three hospitals or over 140 primary care and specialty care clinics throughout North Carolina.

Job Location 

predominately outpatient position with the opportunity for inpatient work at Duke Raleigh Hospital

Job Summary

The Palliative Care Advanced Practice Provider (APP) provides direct patient care services and performs medical acts under the supervision of the supervisory physician to patients >18 years of age requiring palliative care and symptom management.  The APP performs physical exams, collects and documents data, conducts diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, orders and schedules laboratory studies and professional consultations, and prescribes appropriate interventions and medications.  The Palliative Care APP contributes to excellence in patient care, research, teaching, and provides leadership in the organization.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• In collaboration with attending palliative care physicians; diagnose, plan treatment, set priorities and realistic outcomes, and evaluate the effectiveness and cost efficiency of patient care.
• Provide and coordinate clinical care through established protocols and under the supervising physician or back up physician who is either on site or available by pager.
• Assess patients for change in status and institute appropriate interventions. Initiate emergency interventions in an effort to stabilize the patient until physician support arrives.
• Develop patient care pathways, protocols and guidelines for the management of specific problems in conjunction with physicians and other members of the health care team.
• Analyze clinical practice patterns so as to provide the best medical care and to increase effectiveness and efficiency.
• Communicate verbally and in writing all pertinent patient information to supervising MD, nursing staff, patient resource manager, home health agency, hospice agency and other relevant healthcare providers.
• Document in the patients’ medical record all relevant data including but not limited to results of diagnostic tests; laboratory results; patients’ condition and response to therapies/interventions; communications with supervising MD.
• Implement a specific plan of palliative care to alleviate suffering and promote the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual comfort of the patient and family.
• Utilize prescriptive privileges only for identified patient population and in accordance with DUH and NC Board of Nursing/NC Medical Board regulations.
• 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.
• Role model competence in all nurse practitioner / physician assistant advanced skills.

Job Eligibility Requirements

Education         

NP:        Graduate of accredited MSN or DNP Nurse Practitioner program for adult care

PA:        Graduate of ARC accredited Physician Assistant Program, Masters or DSc Degree preferred

Certification:

NP:        Any NP certification that treats adults (FNP, ANP, AGNP, AGACNP, etc.)

PA:        PA-C

Licensure

NP:        Must have current RN licensure issued by NCBON with authorization to practice as NP

PA:        Must have license to practice as PA issued by NCMB

Both: Federal and State DEA independent license/prescriptive authority

Experience

2+ years of APP experience is required, experience as an APP, caring for seriously ill patients with psychiatric comorbitilities is strongly preferred

Job Hours

Monday – Friday, 8am  - 5pm

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation, or military status.

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Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.