Cardiovascular Surgery PA/APRN

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Thank you for your interest in joining our team! Please review the job information below.

General Purpose of Job:
The Physician’s Assistant (PA) Cardiovascular Surgery is a skilled individual, qualified by academic and clinical education who provides assistance in the provision of cardiothoracic care to include assessing and managing patient following established practice standards and protocols. Working closely with the Cardiovascular Service Line, the PA facilitates communication between the members of the health care team and patient/ family to enhance the quality of care provided to cardiac patients (inpatient/ambulatory).

The PA serves to provide continuity of care to infants, children and young adults with a wide range of cardiac diseases and disorders. The Cardiovascular Service Line provides both inpatient and ambulatory clinical support. The inpatient medical team is comprised of cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons as well as intensivists who provide 24-hour coverage, 7 days a week. The ambulatory medical team is comprised of cardiologists as well as cardiovascular surgeons who provide coverage during clinic hours.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Maintains utmost level of confidentiality at all times.
• Adheres to hospital policies and procedures.
• Provide continuum of care to patients under the Cardiovascular Service Line.

• Function independently, under the supervision of an attending cardiovascular surgeon in caring for cardiac patients with a wide spectrum of pediatric diseases/disorders
• Have excellent communication and customer service skills, proven excellence in clinical care and supervisory skills.
• Ambulatory and inpatient consultations prior to surgery, including orders for pre-operative evaluation with review
• See all pre-operative patients the day prior and/or day of OR for evaluation/clinical updates
• Demonstrates business practices and personal actions that are ethical and adhere to corporate compliance and integrity guidelines.
• Perform and record history and physical examinations (initial admissions and consults will be seen by attending cardiovascular surgeon prior to implementing plan of care).
• Will assist with physician directed Pre-Operative Care including:

Write appropriate pre-operative orders (including nursing care, medication orders, laboratory, ECHO cardiography, ECG, radiological examinations, and obtain consultations approved by the CV surgeon). Review pertinent abnormal findings in the patient's history, physical examination, radiological and laboratory data with the CV surgeon, obtain appropriate consultation, additional laboratory or radiological studies as needed, and initiate appropriate medical intervention. Record in progress notes pertinent findings from history, physical examination, laboratory studies, and radiological examination. Confirming operating room schedule, posting or canceling as instructed by the CV Surgeon.

• Will assist with physician directed Intra-Operative Care including:

First and second assist in the OR Placement of indwelling catheters, such as Foley, intravenous and peripheral arterial catheters Assist in preparation of patient for procedure Closure of the chest as delegated by the attending CV surgeon Monitoring and transporting the patient to the CICU

• Will assist with physician directed Post-Operative Care including:

Write appropriate post-operative orders and obtain consultations approved by the CV surgeon Attend the patient in postoperative period reviewing laboratory and radiologic data and making appropriate interventions. Advise the CV surgeon of unexpected events, providing an accurate synopsis of events related to a major change in the patient’s condition and describing corrective measures already taken. Daily assessment of patient’s postoperative course, write note of patient’s progress in chart as it pertains to the supervising physician and implement indicated therapy as determined by the supervising physician. Daily surgical rounds with surgical wound care surveillance/management, removal of intracardiac lines, chest tubes, pacing wires and peritoneal drain. See patients in the ambulatory clinic for post-operative follow-up/surgical wound evaluation.

• Participate in Heart Center department service conferences.
• Assist with preparing weekly cardiac conference.
• Collaborate with research personnel on research projects and data collection.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Education/Certification/licensure:
Completion of an Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) approved program (prior to January 2001 - Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs) AND
Current certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)

• Master’s Degree, Required
• Board certified as a Physician Assistant with current Texas license
• Current Basic Life Support certifications (BLS)
• Current Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)

Job Type: Full-time