Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant, Neurology

Summary

• Position Summary

  • The Advanced Practice Provider, Neurology obtains a complete history and neurologic examination on new patients or established patients; possesses knowledge of the spectrum of neurologic diseases, recognizes presentations of neurologic diseases in laboratory studies, EEG, EMG, and VNG tests; may educate, instruct, and counsel patients and their families regarding their health condition and directs them to appropriate available resources.  Documents patient encounters appropriately; identifies patients presenting with complex neurologic conditions and confers with supervising physician appropriately; facilitates referrals to other providers, medical facilities, or health/social service agencies when appropriate.

• Education
  • Master's in Nursing APRN or Master's in Physician Assistant Studies - Required
  • Graduation from accredited Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant program - Required
• Experience
  • 1 Year as a physician extender - Preferred
• License & Certification
  • Professional License in State of Practice - Required
• Core Job Functions
  • Renders direct patient care to patients in an ambulatory setting. Provides quality care to all patients per best practice and physician protocol. Takes initiative and uses sound judgement surrounding patient care. Assists in managing patient care gaps and avoiding exacerbation of condition. Recognizes and anticipates urgent and emergent patient situations and responds appropriately. Accommodates urgent appointments. Stays timely with appointments on schedule, and remains invested in patient throughput. Renders care at satellite offices as warranted.
  • Refers patients for follow up care, i.e. laboratory, radiology, hospital, further neurological diagnostics, subspecialists, and/or other testing as warranted to assess patient status. Relays and or escalates concerning changes in patient condition(s), or complex clinical scenarios to supervising Neurologist.
  • Provides timely, accurate and thorough medical documentation in the medical record. Completes notes within three days of encounter to ensure medical information is readily available to assist with precertification, referrals, billing, etc. Oversees patient encounters to assure all required elements are captured during patient visit (vitals, quality checks, LOS, medication review, etc.). Verifies and updates patients clinical record on each visit. Assists medical team and staff to assure record is current and accurate as possible. Reviews patient history and new results in-depth, ahead of visit.
  • Provides medical guidance to patients and families pertaining to condition, available services and education on self-management. Assists patients in navigating health education and supportive services within and outside of clinic, including the facilitation of referrals. Follows-up on care and ensures that patients are receiving appropriate care. Identifies patient education needs and assists in education and appropriate health maintenance in management of illness. Communicates effectively with patients, families, and other members of the health care team. Informs patients on physician instructions and any unique preparations. Explains consent forms to patients and has patients sign consent forms. Involves patients and caregivers in informed decision making, with regard to their illness or injury, therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, treatment regimens, family planning, advanced directives, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance.
  • Assesses medication effectiveness per protocol. Assists with management of incoming refills or adjustments.
  • Collaborates with supervising Neurologists within scope of the outpatient Neurology practice, and outpatient Neurology Transition Clinic. Collaborates with Neurologists and Neurohospitalists regarding mutual patients and best practices. Follows policies and procedures for routine office procedures, testing, administration of medications and assisting physicians. Informs patients about procedures prior to performing procedures.
  • Other duties as assigned. Patient clearances, FMLA paperwork, serves as clinical resource for front line clinical staff and management, participates in practice administrative meetings, coding education, continuing medical education, etc.