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UChicago Medicine
Chicago, Illinois

Advanced Practice Provider - Physician Assistant/Nurse Practitioner, Cardiac Surgery

Nurse PractitionerIncludes callFull-Time Physician-Supervised State

Listed compensation

$130.9K–$167.2K

The week · per this posting

Ask the employer about the work setting, weekend coverage, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 3mo ago

Job Description

Join UChicago Medicine, as an Advanced Practice Provider in our Cardiac Surgery Department.

Eligible for a Sign-On Bonus up to $10,000

Eligible for Relocation Assistance

As an Advanced Practice Provider, you are responsible for comprehensive direct patient care management in the hospital setting.

The Heart and Vascular Center at UChicago Medicine is at the forefront of cardiac surgery, specializing in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of heart conditions and heart disease.

Our doctors not only provide the highest level of care — they are also leaders in research who are developing new and better treatments for heart and vascular disease.

UChicago Medicine’s heart and vascular care team includes some of the nation’s best minds in cardiology, cardiac surgery, robotic surgery, vascular surgery and research.

In this role, you will utilize advanced assessment skills and knowledge of clinical therapeutics to evaluate, diagnose and manage critically ill patients.

The APP orders and interprets appropriate diagnostic tests, therapeutic interventions and prescribes pharmacological agents as necessary. As an APP, you will maintain continuity of patient care through patient follow-up, monitoring of patient progress and modifying plan of care as necessary.

The APP applies knowledge of new technology and resources demonstrating advanced or specialized expertise in caring for a variety of cardiac surgery patients including those with complex valve disease, coronary artery disease, disorders of the aorta, advanced heart failure requiring heart transplant or left ventricular assist device placement.

Essential Job Functions

  • Differentiates normal and abnormal variations for all body systems.
  • Assesses patient and family adaptation, coping skills and the need for crisis or other intervention.
  • Accurately interprets diagnostic tests.
  • Analyzes multiple sources of data in making clinical judgments and in determining the effectiveness of a plan of care.
  • Develops problem lists with associated differential diagnosis.
  • Identifies educational needs of the patient and family and assists with teaching.
  • Incorporates assessment findings into a plan to direct patient care.
  • Formulates a plan of care in collaboration with the patient, family, physician, nursing staff and other member of the health care team which incorporates health care maintenance, discharge and follow-up care.
  • Plans and implements appropriate pharmacological therapies.
  • Accurately and appropriately performs routine diagnostic and therapeutic techniques according to established protocols and standardized procedures for nurse practitioners.
  • Initiates referrals based on patient and family need.
  • Accurately presents and documents the database, impression and plan of care.
  • Promotes, has knowledge of and utilizes appropriate patient care protocol relating to the physical, psychosocial and developmental needs of neonatal, pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients.
  • Maintains formal and informal systems for information sharing, planning and problem solving  with unit staff, other NP’s, medical staff and other nursing and hospital personnel.

APPJob Summary

The Nurse practitioner/physician assistant is an APP responsible for comprehensive direct patient care management. The APP manages a caseload of patients and exercises autonomous decision making in the assessment, diagnosis, and initiation of delegated medical treatments. The scope of practice also includes family support, teaching, staff education, consultation, and research.

APP: Provide comprehensive care to patients in the inpatient settings cared for by the APPs of the cardiac surgery ICU and stepdown units.. Work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team, using advanced clinical skills to manage a caseload of patients. Assess, diagnose, initiate delegated medical treatments, perform independent nursing interventions, and evaluate care.

Provide a model of care that is shaped by theory, expanded by science, research and reflective practice and is identified by a holistic and comprehensive approach to the patients.

Nurse Practitioner - Education and Experience Requirements

  • Advanced degree (or equivalent, if license received prior to July 1, 2001) from an accredited school/college of nursing required.
  • Ability to obtain Illinois advanced practice nurse (APN) license by start date required.
  • Current license as a Registered Nurse required.
  • AANC certification as an ACNP and/or ANP-BC required.
  • Minimum two years of critical care clinical nursing experience with demonstrated clinical competence in patient care, teaching and management of patients with critical illness, and knowledge about clinical aspects of critical care including protocol therapy preferred

Physician Assistant - Education and Experience Requirements

  • Education: Completion of an accredited (physician assistant) educational program required.
  • Licensure: Certification in ACLS and by the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) and current and/or eligibility for:  State of Illinois licensure / registration required
  • ICU Certification Required
  • ICU experience highly preferred

Position Details

  • Job Type/FTE: Full-Time, 1.0 FTE
  • Shift: Rotating, 3X12'S
  • Unit/Department: 374581- APN Billing
  • CBA Code: Non-Union

Key Responsibilities

Provide comprehensive direct patient care and management for critically ill cardiac surgery patients in ICU and stepdown units. Responsibilities include diagnosing conditions, ordering diagnostic tests, prescribing pharmacological agents, and collaborating with a multidisciplinary team.

Requirements

Requires an advanced degree in nursing or completion of an accredited physician assistant program with appropriate state licensure and certifications (ACNP/ANP-BC or NCCPA). ICU certification is required, and critical care clinical experience is highly preferred.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Diagnostic InterpretationPharmacological TherapyPatient AssessmentCare PlanningMultidisciplinary CollaborationPatient Education

Surgery — Nurse Practitioner Career Context

Of the 50 active Surgery listings this role was benchmarked against, 30% are remote, 66% have no call, 64% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Illinois is 100.0 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$149k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $149k in an average-cost state. 62.6% of Illinois clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Nurse Practitioner Jobs

37 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution37 jobs · 21 employers

12
<$135k
14
$135k-150k
5
$150k-165k
2
$165k-180k
4
$180k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks36 jobs · 21 employers

401k / retirement match
94%
CME allowance
72%
Sign-on bonus
31% this job
Relocation assistance
8% this job
Loan repayment
6%

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Work-life snapshot

median 3.6this job 1.5
Below most Surgery (NP) listings for work-life

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 302 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • Includes call

Living in Chicago

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$356k≈ 2.7× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,342/mo≈ 21% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
33 min
State income tax
Up to 5%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.