PMOA_Nurse Practitioiner

Job Description Summary

The Nurse Practitioner is a registered professional nurse with advanced graduate education and clinical training who provides comprehensive palliative/hospice care services in compliance with the state Nurse Practice Act and under the supervision of a collaborating physician. He/She provides palliative/hospice care through the evaluation and assessment of the health history, health promotion, diagnosing medical conditions, management of health problems by directing and developing the plan of care, prescribing medications or treatments, coordinating and collaborating with patients, families and other healthcare practitioners. Under the supervision of a physician, the nurse practitioner visits patients (in home, facility or clinic setting), completes physical assessments, performs face to face assessments and evaluates palliative/hospice eligibility as assigned in consultation with an interdisciplinary team. The nurse practitioner builds from the resources of the community to plan and direct services to meet the need of individuals and families within their homes and communities.

Essential Job Functions/Responsibilities

Patient Care

1. Provides medical care, palliates and manages serious illness in compliance with the state Nurse Practice Act under the supervision of a collaborating physician.
2. Completes history and physical examinations, by evaluating the patient's medical condition and health history, ordering and interpreting results from laboratory and diagnostic tests or procedures, diagnosing health conditions and documents the findings in the patient's medical record.
3. Manages health conditions and serious illnesses by developing an individualized plan of care, prescribing medications and / or treatments, obtaining consultations or making referrals and coordinating palliative/hospice care services.
4. May complete the hospice face to face visit requirements prior to the third and subsequent hospice benefit periods to assess hospice eligibility based on the hospice conditions of participation and the local coverage determinations. Provides clinical information to the Hospice Medical Director for interpretation for eligibility for hospice recertification.
5. Makes recommendations to the Hospice Medical Director and Hospice of Acadiana regarding patient eligibility for certification and recertification for hospice care.
6. Reviews clinical information, coordinates and oversees patient care in consultation with the palliative/hospice interdisciplinary team and other healthcare practitioners.
7. Assures that patient receives appropriate measures to control symptoms through collaboration with interdisciplinary team members.
8. Reviews and develops protocols for treatment and proposes options for interventions based on the literature in collaboration with the collaborating physician.
9. Consults the collaborating physician when the patient's plan of care is outside standardized practice and protocols.
10. Participation in on-call rotation

Communication

1. Communicates and collaborates with the palliative interdisciplinary team to create, review and revise the patient's plan of care.
2. Consults with the patient's primary care physician, and other healthcare practitioners regarding the patient's eligibility for palliative/hospice care, ongoing care needs and medical management related to the patient's serious/terminal condition.
3. Communicates with other community health practitioners to coordinate the plan of care.
4. Attends and participates in palliative/hospice interdisciplinary team meetings.
5. Completes and submits accurate and relevant clinical notes, physical exam notes, assessment visit notes, medical orders, collaboration notes and other documentation in the medical record.
6. Educates/counsels’ patients, families, and/or caregivers as to preventative care, medical problems, psychological problems, symptom management, advanced care planning, and spiritual problems in conjunction with the interdisciplinary team to meet the total needs of patients.
7. Provides and maintains a safe environment for the patient.
8. Assists the patient and family/caregiver and other team members in providing continuity of care.
9. Works in cooperation with the family/caregiver and the interdisciplinary team to identify the goals of care and meet the care needs of the patient and family/caregiver.
10. Serves as a nursing resource for consultation and educations to members of the interdisciplinary team and other healthcare practitioners in the community.
11. Establishes, builds and nurtures relationships with staff and community referral sources to facilitate program growth.

Additional Duties

1. Maintains knowledge of and compliance with current Medicare/Medicaid, state/federal rules and regulations for palliative/hospice services.
2. Ensures compliance with the Medicare conditions of participation and other state regulations govern the provision of healthcare.
3. Complies with all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements in accordance with federal, state and organizational policies.
4. Participates in organizational monitoring of the quality of medical services and quality improvement initiatives.
5. Assumes responsibility for personal growth. Develops, maintains and upgrades professional knowledge and practice skills through attendance at seminars, conferences and participation in continuing education and in-service classes.
6. Fulfills the obligation of requested and/or accepted assignments.
7. Demonstrate knowledge in communication and counseling patient/family in dealing with serious illness issues.

The above statements are intended to be a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job. The incumbents may be requested to perform job-related tasks or special projects, other than those stated in this description, by supervisors/Leadership Team.