Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner

Description

The Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner works in collaboration with the Palliative Care Teams to provide comprehensive care services to patients. The Nurse Practitioner is responsible for providing palliative care patient visits and coordination of their plans of care with the patient’s primary health provider, and clinical teams.

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Accountability:

Reports to the Chief Medical Officer and Administrator

Requirements

Essential Job Functions:

1. Fosters and maintains effective working relationships between patients and their families, co-workers, and community partners
2. Works directly with patients and their families on end-of-life matters and well as goals of care planning for the chronically ill
3. Assists the Chief Medical Officer in the oversight of patient care by providing direction for orders and interventions to optimize patient outcomes
4. Functions independently to complete history and physical data on patients; performs complete physical exams; interprets and integrates data to determine appropriate diagnosis and treatment plan
5. Must be comfortable working in an acute care setting
6. Gathers, reports, and analyzes patient care data and implements care accordingly
7. Assists clinical team with family coping by providing advanced medical insight to patient conditions and treatment options
8. Capable of giving adequate report on patient’s condition to the Chief Medical Officer
9. Understands/provides basic principles of palliative care/pain management within the Scope of Practice
10. Collaborates with the attending physician and Chief Medical Officer when developing the individualized treatment plan
11. Complies with all documentation policies and procedures
12. Completes appropriate documentation in a legible and timely manner
13. Completes physician orders and medication orders, within scope of practice, in a timely manner
14. Supervises and delegates duties to all members of the nursing team, as needed
15. Participates in Interdisciplinary Team Meetings and other Performance Improvement Activities, as needed
16. Provides emotional support and makes appropriate referrals to other team members
17. Assesses and addresses depression and fear associated with terminal illness for both the patient and any family members or loved ones
18. Facilitates communication among patient, family, and palliative team
19. Attends scheduled interdisciplinary team meetings
20. Identifies needs for resources and addresses appropriately
21. May participate in the competence evaluations of nursing staff and other nurse practitioners
22. Participates in community education, as requested, Chief Medical Officer
23. Maintains working knowledge of pharmaceuticals for management of patient symptoms including, but not limited to, pain, shortness of breath, nausea, constipation, and agitation
24. Follows Nevada Rule AB474
25. Assures patients to identify need for hospice referral as appropriate
26. Consults appropriately with Chief Medical Officer if uncertain about management of a disease, treatment options, or if required interventions beyond the knowledge and expertise of the nurse practitioner
27. Other duties as assigned

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Specific to Job Position:

1. Adheres to patient rights, abuse reporting and confidentiality policies
2. Attends scheduled staff meetings and/or in-service trainings
3. Adheres to departmental dress code requirements related to uniform, personal grooming, and other attire
4. Demonstrates reliability by reporting to work on time and providing proper notification for absence or tardiness
5. Demonstrates ability to problem-solve and make decisions by assessing situations and considering alternatives, seeking guidance and direction as necessary and utilizing proper chain of command
6. Demonstrates effective time management skills by coordinating activities to achieve maximum productivity and efficiency; possesses a willingness to adjust or revise work schedules as requested
7. Assumes responsibility for on-going personal development and continuing education
8. Stays current with all mandatory agency and regulatory requirements
9. Completes assigned projects within specified time frames

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Physical/Safety Requirements:

1. Must have the strength and endurance required for standing, walking, sitting for extended periods of time
2. Utilizes appropriate durable medical equipment as needed in a safe manner
3. Uses appropriate body mechanics as needed for personal use and safe patient care
4. Category 1 for potential exposure to blood/body fluids. (Requires the performance of procedures or other tasks in the work routine that involve an inherent potential for mucous membrane or skin contact with blood, body fluids or tissues, or a potential for spills or splashes of them. Protective measures should be used while engaged in Category 1 tasks with exposure potential.)
5. Utilizes appropriate PPE as needed
6. Follows the designated plan of action in the event of a fire or other emergency/disaster
7. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to fumes or airborne particles, work- related stresses, and driving hazards
8. The individual may be required to drive to meetings with clients, health care professionals or patients’ homes
9. The noise level in the work environment is usually minimal

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. 

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the employer will provide reasonable accommodations to meet the work environmental and physical demands listed above.

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Qualifications and Experience:

1. Must be currently licensed as a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner by the State Board of Nursing in the State of Nevada
2. Prefer 2 years of experience as a Nurse Practitioner
3. Prefer prior experience in hospice or palliative care
4. Prefer certification in hospice and palliative care
5. Successful completion of a background check pursuant to NRS 449.188 and NRS 179A.100 along with a pre-employment drug screen and physical, TB testing, previous employment and reference checking, and an MVR (may include verification of education)
6. Reads, speaks, writes, and understands the English language
7. Maintains BLS Certification
8. Maintains active APRN licensure with the Nevada State Board of Nursing
9. Maintains active NPI and DEA registration and provides such information to the company
10. Maintains proper licensure and active status to prescribe non-controlled substances and controlled substances through the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy
11. Maintains active enrollment in the Nevada State Prescription Monitoring Program
12. Must not be exempted from working with Medicare patients
13. Must be able to handle frequent interruptions
14. Must be able to cope with emotionally charged situations encompassing, patients, families, and other caregivers
15. Must be available for prescheduled on-call hours, weekends, and holiday
16. Reliable transportation and current auto insurance coverage is required