NP or PA Rapid Response Team & ICU Support Team

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Organization

VUH Advanced Practice Provider

Job Summary

The Advanced Practice Provider (APP) (NP or Physician Assistant) is an integral member of the multidisciplinary healthcare team, delivering expert care in the Critical Care setting.

This role involves managing high-acuity intensive care unit (ICU) patients with unstable conditions who require intensive oversight, frequent rounding, and specialized care. Patients may include those in medical and surgical ICUs with complex needs requiring advanced interventions.

The APP is responsible for managing complex conditions while ensuring delivery of safe, high-quality care. This role requires advanced medical knowledge, clinical judgment, technical proficiency, professionalism, and excellent interpersonal communication skills.

The APP is also accountable for timely and compliant documentation, ongoing professional development, and competency validation. With a strong foundation of medical knowledge, the APP combines evidence-based practice with clinical expertise to meet the unique needs of critical care patients..

Job Description

• Position Hours
• Full-Time
• Night Shift (7pm - 7am)
• 3 - 13 Hour Shifts

$15,000 Sign On Bonus for Candidates with 2 or More Years of Critical Care Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant Experience*

*The sign-on bonus is not applicable to current VUMC staff or former staff who have worked for VUMC in the past twelve months. The sign-on bonus is only available for full-time positions.

• Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) or Physician Assistant (PA) license required
• Critical Care RN or APP experience preferred
• Department Summary

Rapid Response Team/CCOT

The rapid response NP/PA provides healthcare across the hospital when a patient outside of an ICU has a change in clinical status that requires immediate interventions to evaluate and stabilize their condition.

The rapid response team (also known as the Critical Care Outreach Team - CCOT) provides 24 hour coverage across the hospital for episodic care when patients have an acute change in clinical status outside of an ICU.

The rapid response/CCOT NP or PA works with the primary team and supervising intensivists to evaluate a patient’s clinical status and identify interventions to stabilize any acute changes while considering moving the patient to a higher level of care.

RRT/CCOT is responsible for documentation and data collection related to rapid response and STAT activations as well as education to patients, nurses, and physicians in relation to rapid response and STAT calls

ICU Support Team

The Critical Care APP works in collaboration with a multidisciplinary health care team. The NP/PA provides healthcare in critical care settings, including surgical and medical ICUs. The APP has didactic education, clinical competency and national certification in identified area of clinical practice.

Upon moving to a new ICU, the APP will receive adequate training and support before moving to a more independent role within the ICU for 8 continuous weeks. Each year, the APP will spend blocks of time working on the RRT/CCOT as well as supporting a new ICU for several months where staffing shortages are occurring.

The ICU Support Team and Rapid Response team is a dynamic and novel advanced practice provider team who work with physicians across the hospital and the different ICUs to provide care to the most sick and vulnerable patient population. Blocks of several months at a time will be spent staffing either RRT/CCOT or working within a specific ICU.

Key Responsibilities

Obtains and documents a health history; performs and documents complete, system-focused, or symptom-specific physical examination, assessment and plan of care.

In collaboration, provides healthcare services for primary, acute and complex care of patients and manages patients’ overall care, identifying expected outcomes for diagnoses.

Orders, performs, interprets and collects data using appropriate assessment techniques, relevant supporting diagnostic information and diagnostic procedures where indicated.

• Forms differential diagnoses and treats acute and chronic conditions.
• Prescribes therapeutic interventions for both pharmacologic, non-pharmacologic and surgical, needed to achieve expected outcomes.
• Utilizes evidence-based, approved practice protocols in planning and implementing care.

Initiates Appropriate Referrals and Consultations

• Provides specialty specific consultation services upon request and within a specialty scope of practice.
• Facilitates the patient’s transition between and within health care settings, such as admitting, transferring, and discharging patients.
• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

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.
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