Physician Assistant

Position Summary: Certified (PA-C) has an independent license to practice in a collaborative arrangement with a neurosurgeon and other health care providers utilizing primary, secondary and tertiary approaches. Augment a physician’s ability to provide patient care services by independently and interdependently scheduling, supervising and or conducting complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.  Physician Assistants also performs surgical procedures within their scope and realm of their practice agreement with their supervising neurosurgeon.  

Principle Duties and Responsibilities:  

• Assist neurosurgeon in the operating room as needed.  
• Independently rounding on patients and assessing and monitoring patients’ health and status. Appropriately documenting status in hospital computer system.  Updating and working in collaboration with neurosurgeons and other health care providers.  

Job duties include but are not limited to:

o performing complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in diagnosing neurosurgical problems
o prescribing necessary treatment and services for quality patient care; record data and tentative conclusions of review by the physician.  
o Assessment of the physical, psychosocial and developmental status of the individual and family.
o Coordination of in-hospital care with hospital nursing staff and other services or departments as necessary.  Coordinate with social worker and community nursing services or other providers.
o Patient and family teaching and support, case management including care or family conferences
o Manage both pre-operative and post-operative orders, discharge planning of patients
o Management of prescriptions and treatments or studies according to the collaborative practice arrangements with specific physicians/institutions.
o Wound treatments, dressing changes and suture removal
o Shunt taps and shunt reprogramming
o Head frame application and removal
o Brace application and removal
o Follow-up management of clinic patients; documenting in EHR.  
o Triage patients and phone calls appropriately
o Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with staff, physicians, patients, nurses and clients.
o The PA-C in collaboration with the On-Call Physician, will provide care to such hospitalized patients.
o Follow appropriate security and confidentiality procedures outlines ion the employee handbook, office conduct, employee conduct and work rules.
o Maintains patient confidentiality and follows all HIPAA guidelines.
o Maintains licenses and hospital privileges, CEUs and BLS

Requirements:

Education:  Graduate of an accredited Physician Assistant Training Program

Experience:  One year of experience in neurosurgery clinic setting and in a patient hospital environment.  Or three years of similar level work as a physician assistant.  Excellent interpersonal skills.  Excellent oral and written communication skills.  Ability to interpret images.

Licensing/Certification: Licensed and approved as physician assistant in the State of Michigan
Certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)
Approved for prescriptive authority (Current DEA)