Pediatric Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant - Perioperative Risk Assessment

Discover Vanderbilt Health: With eight hospitals and over 180 clinics, we are the region’s largest comprehensive academic health system. Vanderbilt Health has a long tradition of providing world-class care to the people of the Mid-South, living out our mission of moving medicine forward through preeminent programs in patient care, education and research. Here you’ll find a spirit of collaboration and a supportive community where your expertise is valued, your knowledge expanded and your uniqueness celebrated. We are committed to fostering an environment where talented, compassionate people are united in bringing the most advanced care to our neighbors throughout the region.

Organization:

Advanced Practice Periop Risk Assessment

Job Summary:

Join our growing perioperative team as an Advanced Practice Provider (APP) and play a key role in expanding our preoperative care model. This position will partner closely with a newly developed RN perioperative risk assessment team to support safe, efficient, and coordinated care for pediatric patients preparing for procedures and anesthesia.

The Advanced Practice Provider (APP) plays a vital role in delivering specialized care and managing the health needs of patients in either inpatient, ambulatory, or a combination of both settings. With advanced training and expertise, the APP focuses on subspecialized care, including chronic illness and disease management, ensuring continuity of care throughout the patient’s healthcare journey, which may span multiple years. This role involves specialization in a specific organ system, where the APP provides expert consultation within their area of expertise as appropriate. The APP is integral to supporting patients across the continuum of care in both inpatient and outpatient specialty settings, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to achieve optimal patient outcomes.

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Join our growing perioperative team as an Advanced Practice Provider (APP) and play a key role in expanding our preoperative care model. This position will partner closely with a newly developed RN perioperative risk assessment team to support safe, efficient, and coordinated care for pediatric patients preparing for procedures and anesthesia.

Position Details:

• Four 10 Hour Shifts (Days)
• Rotating work hours between 5:30am-3:30pm and 7am-5pm
• No Nights, No Weekends, No Call

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide advanced clinical assessment of pediatric patients undergoing procedures requiring anesthesia, with a focus on identifying and addressing perioperative risk factors. 
• Serve as a clinical resource for the RN Perioperative Risk Assessment Team, providing consultation and guidance for patients identified through the screening process as requiring additional evaluation.
• Evaluate patients with complex medical histories, comorbidities, abnormal screening findings, or other factors that may affect their readiness for anesthesia or a planned procedure.
• Determine when additional testing, medical records, specialty consultation, or clinical optimization is needed prior to anesthesia.
• Collaborate with anesthesia providers, surgical and procedural teams, RNs, and other interdisciplinary partners to develop an appropriate perioperative plan of care.
• Support timely escalation and resolution of clinical concerns identified during the RN preoperative screening process.
• Communicate with patients and families regarding preoperative assessment findings, additional evaluation needs, and preparation for anesthesia and procedures.
• Coordinate care for medically complex patients undergoing multiple procedures, diagnostic studies, or interventions requiring anesthesia.
• Promote continuity of care by facilitating communication among primary care providers, specialists, procedural teams, anesthesia providers, and families.
• Identify opportunities to reduce preventable day-of-procedure delays and cancellations through earlier recognition and management of perioperative concerns.
• Partner with nursing and physician leadership to develop, refine, and standardize workflows for the expanding perioperative risk assessment program.
• Participate in quality improvement initiatives focused on patient safety, care coordination, efficiency, and the preoperative patient and family experience.
• Provide education and clinical support to members of the perioperative risk assessment team as the program grows.

 

Requirements:

• Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Primary Care (CPNP-PC), Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute Care (CPNP-AC) or Physician Assistant (PA)
• Prior Experience Preferred (Perioperative Services RN or APP)

 

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

• Health Systems and Policy Management (Advanced): Demonstrates sufficient fundamental proficiency in behaviors that reflect a commitment to continuous professional development, ethical practice, an understanding and a responsible attitude toward their patients, their profession and society. Participates in professional organizations and activities that influence advanced practice.
• Patient and Family Centered Care (Advanced): Demonstrates care that is compassionate, appropriate and effective for the promotion of health, prevention of illness, treatment of disease and care at the end of life. Within scope of licensure and certification, manages previously diagnosed and undiagnosed patients. Uses health assessment skills to differentiate between normal, variations of normal, and abnormal findings. Employes screening and diagnostic strategies in the development of diagnoses. Prescribes medications within scope of practice. Manages health/illness status of patients and families over time and across the continuum. Provides patient/centered care recognizing the patient or designee as a full partner in decision making. Creates a climate of patient/centered care to include confidentiality privacy, comfort emotional support, mutual trust, and respect. Incorporates cultural and spiritual preferences, values and beliefs into health care. Preserves the patient’s control over decision making by negotiating a mutually acceptable plan of care. Integrates ethical principles into decision making. Uses electronic health record to capture data on variables for the evaluation and management of patient care. Clearly documents findings, assessment and plan of care.
• Clinical Knowledge and Practice (Advanced): Demonstrates established and evolving biomedical, clinical and social sciences, and the application of their knowledge to patient care and the education of others. Demonstrates knowledge of population focus but also other sciences that support his/her field of practice. Demonstrates knowledge of common and important health issues affecting society and other societies around the globe. Demonstrates commitment in maintaining current evidence-based knowledge through continuous learning. Educates patients, families, students and other members of the healthcare team in clinical topics and application of clinical knowledge.
• Practice-Based Scholarly Inquiry and Integration (Advanced): Demonstrates the use of scientific evidence and methods to investigate, evaluate and improve patient care practices. Anticipates variations in practice and is proactive in implementing interventions to improve quality. Uses best available evidence to continuously improve quality of clinical practice. Generates knowledge from clinical practice to improve practice and patient outcomes. Reviews data and evidence to improve advanced practice. Integrates knowledge from the humanities and sciences within the context of nursing science.
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills (Advanced): Demonstrates interpersonal and communication skills that enable them to establish and maintain professional relationships with patients, families, and other members of health care teams. Communicates practice knowledge effectively both orally and in writing.
• Professionalism (Advanced): Demonstrates behaviors that reflect a commitment to continuous professional development, ethical practice, and a responsible attitude toward their patients, their profession and society. Participates in medical center committees, professional organizations and activities that influence advanced practice.

 Our Nursing Philosophy:  

We believe highly skilled and specialized nursing care is essential to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s mission of quality in patient care, education and research. We believe nursing is an applied art and science focused on helping people, families and communities reach excellent health and well-being. 

As a Vanderbilt University Medical Center employee, you make a difference to our patients and their families by bringing compassion and care to those in need of hope and healing. Please see our current employee benefits offered:

• Affordable High Quality Health Plan Options
• Dental and /or vision plan
• 403 (b) retirement plan
• Paid Time off (flex PTO)
• Tuition Reimbursement and adoption assistance (maximums applied)
• Short-Long term disability
• Subsidized backup childcare
• And many more... Ask us about our current inpatient nursing supplemental Pay Program!

Achieve the Remarkable: 

Learn more about VUMC Nursing here.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Executes job responsibilities with the understanding of how output would affect and impact other areas related to own job area/team with occasional guidance. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Analyzes moderately complex problems using technical experience and judgment. Breadth of Knowledge: Has expanded knowledge gained through experience within a professional area. Team Interaction: Provides informal guidance and support to team members.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues:- Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas.- Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships.- Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Services:- Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them.- Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.- Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly.- Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.- Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area.- Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation:- Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.- Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges.- Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

LIC-Licensed Nurse Practitioner - Tennessee, LIC-Physician's Assistant Certified - Tennessee, LIC-Registered Nurse - Tennessee

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level:

Less than 1 year

Education:

Master's

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity.  EOE/Vets/Disabled.