Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner (APNP)- Palliative Care & Hospice

Supportive Care Management (palliative care) & Hospice Nurse Practitioner - All Unity Service Area

The Supportive Care Management (palliative care) and Hospice Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner (APNP) provides advanced clinical expertise and leadership to enhance care planning, treatment, and outcomes for individuals with palliative care and/or hospice needs.

The APNP supports an interdisciplinary approach that aligns with the vision and values of palliative and hospice care. The APNP offers clinical direction and guidance to the Unity staff to ensure high-quality care for patients and their families, consistent with Unity’s mission and values.

The NP supports Unity’s programs and operates within the regulatory framework. The APNP functions both independently and collaboratively under the guidance of the Medical Director or designee, delivering services related to hospice and palliative care.

Schedule: Monday-Friday, working 32 hours per week, weekends, and on call as needed.

This Role Will Cover All Unity Territories.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities

Palliative Care: Supportive Care Management (SCM)

Working in partnership with individuals, families, and healthcare partners across a range of settings, the APNP complements and enhances existing services (primary community, home-based, and facilities) using a consultative and advisory model in collaboration with other healthcare providers.

Hospice

The APNP assists in overseeing the clinical care and treatment of Unity patients in collaboration with the patients’ attending providers and with the Unity Medical Director and medical team members.

Leadership

• Demonstrates nursing leadership that positively influences the health outcomes of people
• with palliative care and/or hospice needs.
• Advances the profession of nursing.
• Identifies practice areas of concern, risk, and learning opportunities.
• Demonstrates skilled mentoring, coaching, and teaching of health care colleagues.
• Contributes to a culturally safe environment.
• The APNP will contribute to a culture of excellence, collaboration, integrity, compassion, and accountability.
• Role models excellence in clinical professional practice and works alongside staff to reinforce
• learning and provide specialist assistance when required.
• Utilizes evidence-based theory and best practice in clinical care.
• Contributes to clinical leadership across the Unity interdisciplinary teams and
• broader Hospice and Supportive Care Management (SCM) program.
• Influences organizational change as appropriate.
• Demonstrates professional nursing leadership by participating in pertinent evidence-based
• literature searches and policy development.
• Creatively generates new approaches to the extension of nursing knowledge and delivery of
• expert care.
• Facilitates collaboration between primary, facility-based aged-care, in-patient, and community
• Services.
• Works collaboratively with other APNP’s in the region and state and participates in peer
• support and mentorship.
• The APNP will communicate effectively, timely, and appropriately at all times.

Advanced Practice

• Demonstrates the competencies for the APNP Scope of Practice.
• Applies advanced nursing practice in the provision of health care services to patients with a hospice and/or palliative care need.
• Delivers patient-centered care operating within a nursing model of holistic practice.
• Establishes therapeutic relationships with patients and families that recognizes the patient in context and respects cultural identity and lifestyle choices.
• Demonstrates complex decision-making skills to support advanced practice identifying patients and patient/families at risk.
• Demonstrates advanced comprehensive patient health assessment skills and diagnostic decision-making relative to the specialty of hospice and palliative care.
• Orders, conducts, and interprets diagnostic and laboratory tests, and administers therapies for the management of potential or actual health needs.
• Consistently uses appropriate tests and investigations based upon the patient’s clinical status to support clinical reasoning and evaluates measurable outcomes.
• Provides patients and families with appropriate clinical information to support informed decision making, uses appropriate language and style respectful of the end-of-life experience.
• Demonstrates competency with prescribing and regular medication review for hospice and palliative care patients.

Hospice Service Provision

• The APNP will participate in call coverage on a regular basis.
• The APNP will be responsible for the medical aspect of the patient care programs and activities with members of the local medical community in collaboration with the Medical Director and members of the medical team.
• The APNP will review and collaborate with the Medical Director regarding the appropriateness of patients at time of hospice admission.
• The APNP will round on designated patients at the Jack and Engrid Meng Hospice Residence when directed.
• Provide face-to-face recertification visits and ensure the accurate and timely documentation of those visits to assure seamless care of Unity’s hospice patients.
• Identify practices of concern, risk, and learning opportunities.
• Assist in the development and delivery of comprehensive, quality plans of care for patients/families in accordance with Unity program standards, collaborating with other members of the IDT.
• Accept the role of hospice attending if/when needed.
• Assure accuracy and timeliness of documentation to support CPT codes and billing.
• Adhere to Unity’s policies regarding the protection of all health information.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Medical Director or designee.

Palliative Care Coordination and Service Provision

• Working in partnership with individuals, families, and healthcare partners across a range of settings, the APNP complements and enhances existing services (primary, community, home-based, and facilities) using a consultative and advisory model in collaboration with other healthcare providers.
• Coordinates care across sectors and disciplines to improve patient outcomes.
• Initiates and oversees health care for palliative care patients as part of the supportive care model.
• Effective team member within the interdisciplinary team.
• Provides comprehensive, accurate assessments of patients with a palliative care need in a variety of settings.
• Maintains excellent documentation and communication practices.
• Evaluates effective use of assessment tools for safe, consistent, evidence-based practice.
• Anticipates and collaborates with training in response to the needs of clinical settings.
• Acts as an expert resource for clinical and theoretical knowledge within the specialty of palliative care.
• Upholds the cultural safety in nursing practice.

Consultant

• Serve as a hospice and palliative resource with attending and consulting providers as necessary regarding pain and symptom management, chronic disease management, patient prognosis, and palliative treatments in collaboration with the Medical Director.
• Provides advisory support and consults with primary care providers, subspecialists, and Unity’s interdisciplinary team regarding the health of the individual with serious illness or advanced chronic disease to promote optimal outcomes for those with palliative care or hospice needs.
• Contributes clinical expertise and support in the development of clinical capability in care (knowledge, skill, and leadership) of those with complex palliative care or hospice needs.
• Support access to timely palliative care or hospice nursing advise to promote optimal clinical care for the patient experiencing serious illness or advanced chronic disease.
• Support the principles of dying in place.
• Contribute to improved coordination of care across various care settings and disciplines.
• Collaborate with clinical leaders within various settings to provide mentorship and enhance support for registered nurses and interdisciplinary caregivers in their facilities and practices.
• Consult with team members on an as-needed basis for clinical issues relating to the patient/family plan of care.
• Serve as a consultant with the patient’s attending provider as requested.
• Provide clinical expertise, education, and training on pain and symptom management and other palliative and hospice-related topics to Unity staff.

Professional Development

• Models appropriate professional, legal, and ethical determinants of practice.
• Identifies and appropriately manages own professional education.
• Provides ethical, equitable, and quality palliative and hospice care across the care continuum.
• Utilizes local, state, national, and international networks to inform practice and develop strong collegial links and partnerships.
• Champions practice development through the optimal use of care guides/care pathways.
• Engages in clinical education and mentoring of interdisciplinary staff.
• Participates in staff and patient education through role modelling and facilitating the exchange of knowledge to improve patient outcomes.
• Leads or participates in professional development activities, case reviews, conferences, seminars, and professional groups.
• Engages with policy and practice development internally, state-wide, and nationally. Actively engages with medical and administrative leadership to inform the development of the hospice and palliative care (SCM) programs.

Research, Education, and Quality Improvement

• Identifies quality improvement issues and contributes to the continual development of quality systems and processes to support palliative care and hospice service delivery.
• Critically appraises and applies relevant research to the development and promotion of evidence-based practice.
• Identifies issues and undertakes audit/practice review in collaboration with pertinent interdisciplinary team me