APP) Inpatient Hepato-pancreato-biliary Surgical Service

University of Virginia•Charlottesville, VA

11d•Onsite

About The Position

The Inpatient Advanced Practice Provider (NP or PA) for Hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgery serves as an integral member of a high-acuity surgical inpatient service within an academic medical center. This APP provides comprehensive evaluation and management of hospitalized adult surgical patients recovering from complex HPB procedures, as well as patients requiring inpatient medical and perioperative management of related conditions. This role enhances patient care and service reliability by providing a consistent clinical presence that anchors quality and service standards across both surgical services. Core contributions include postoperative assessment and management, timely recognition and escalation of complications, venous thromboembolism risk stratification and mitigation, patient and family education, interprofessional communication, discharge readiness coordination, and facilitation of patient throughput. The APP also supports accurate and comprehensive clinical documentation that reflects the complexity of care delivered, contributing to the appropriate capture of diagnoses, severity of illness, and case mix index. This APP supports operational continuity and maintains inpatient efficiency, safety, and team-based care across the HPB service. In addition to direct patient management, the APP contributes to resident and learner support, promotes evidence-based practice, and strengthens coordination across surgeons, consulting teams, nursing, case management, pharmacy, therapy services, and other members of the interprofessional team.

Requirements

Graduate of an accredited Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program or accredited Physician Assistant program.
For Nurse Practitioners: current licensure as a Registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioner in Virginia, with AG-ACNP preparation appropriate for inpatient adult surgical practice.
For Physician Assistants: current licensure or license eligibility as a Physician Assistant in Virginia.
Graduate of an accredited graduate school of nursing or physician assistant program with a master’s degree.
Department and unit specific experience.
License or license eligible as an Advance Practice Provider (Nurse Practitioner, Physician Associate, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, and Certified Nurse Midwife) as set forth by the state of Virginia.
If Nurse Practitioner, license to Practice as a Registered Nurse in the Commonwealth of Virginia is required.
Must demonstrate and maintain all credentialing and licensing requirements of UVA Health System, the Virginia Board of Medicine or the Virginia Board of Nursing, and appropriate certifying bodies.
Current Basic Life Support (BLS) required.
Current PALS/NRP, as required, specific to position.
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) as required, specific to position.
Advanced knowledge of adult inpatient surgical management, perioperative physiology, and postoperative complications.
Strong clinical judgment and ability to manage complex, evolving patient conditions.
Ability to recognize deterioration early and escalate care appropriately.
Knowledge of VTE risk assessment, prevention, and mitigation in surgical populations.
Excellent communication skills with patients, families, physicians, residents, nurses, and interdisciplinary partners.
Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize across multiple patients and service needs.
Skill in discharge planning, care transitions, and throughput management.
Ability to document clearly, accurately, and comprehensively in the electronic medical record.
Commitment to evidence-based practice, patient-centered care, safety, and continuous improvement.

Nice To Haves

Experience caring for adult surgical inpatients in a tertiary or academic medical center.
Experience in HPB surgery, surgical oncology, acute care surgery, or related complex surgical populations.
Demonstrated experience with postoperative management, escalation of care, discharge coordination, and interdisciplinary rounding.
Experience with quality improvement, care pathway implementation, or documentation optimization.
Prior teaching or precepting experience in an academic environment.

Responsibilities

Supports the collective inpatient surgical services of Hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) Surgery.
Maintains consistent inpatient service coverage to promote continuity, reliability, and operational efficiency across both surgical services.
Facilitates patient throughput by identifying and addressing barriers to progression of care, discharge readiness, and transitions between levels of care.
Participates in daily interdisciplinary rounds and coordinates plans of care with surgeons, residents, fellows, nursing, case management, pharmacy, nutrition, rehabilitation, and consulting services.
Ensures timely, accurate, and complete clinical documentation for inpatient encounters, consultations, progress notes, discharge documentation, and other required records.
Supports accurate capture of diagnoses, comorbidities, complications, severity of illness, and complexity of care to optimize documentation integrity and case mix index.
Promotes adherence to institutional policies, service-specific clinical pathways, enhanced recovery principles, and quality standards.
Assists with coordination of admissions, transfers, handoffs, discharge planning, and other operational processes affecting inpatient flow.
Contributes to the maintenance of safe, efficient, and standardized inpatient care delivery across the HPB and Bariatric/MIS services.
Practices as an Advanced Practice Provider within the scope of licensure, certification, approved privileges, and institutional policy.
Provides both independent and team-based care in collaboration with attending surgeons and the interprofessional team.
Demonstrates advanced clinical judgment in the management of complex adult surgical inpatients.
Maintains current knowledge of evidence-based practice relevant to the HPB surgical population.
Communicates effectively and professionally with patients, families, physicians, trainees, nursing staff, consultants, and ancillary team members.
Supports appropriate attribution of professional services through compliant documentation and clinical practice.
Maintains required licensure, certification, credentialing, and privileging standards.
Participates in ongoing professional development and continuing education related to inpatient surgical care.
Contributes to a culture of accountability, collaboration, patient-centered care, and continuous improvement.
Evaluates and manages adult inpatients recovering from HPB surgical procedures.
Assesses and manages patients requiring inpatient medical and perioperative management of related surgical conditions.
Performs histories, physical examinations, daily assessments, and ongoing clinical management of hospitalized surgical patients.
Develops, implements, and adjusts evidence-based plans of care in collaboration with supervising/collaborating surgeons.
Orders, interprets, and acts upon laboratory studies, imaging, and other diagnostic tests relevant to inpatient surgical care.
Prescribes medications, fluids, nutrition support, and other therapies within the scope of practice and approved privileges.
Manages postoperative issues, including pain, nausea/vomiting, ileus, dehydration, electrolyte abnormalities, infection, glycemic control, wound concerns, drain management, bowel function, and nutritional optimization.
Provides timely venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk stratification and implements prophylaxis and mitigation strategies in accordance with institutional and specialty standards.
Recognizes, evaluates, and responds to complications and changes in patient condition, including timely escalation of care when indicated.
Responds to care escalations and coordinates appropriate intervention with surgeons, consultants, rapid response teams, ICU teams, and other clinical resources.
Provides thorough postoperative and discharge education to patients and families, including recovery expectations, medication instructions, diet progression, activity, wound care, drain care, warning signs, and follow-up needs.
Promotes patient safety and quality outcomes through proactive surveillance, timely intervention, effective communication, and standardized postoperative management.
Performs procedures within scope, demonstrated competency, and approved privileges.
Anchors service quality standards through the presence of a consistent inpatient provider across a busy surgical service.
Serves as a key communication link among surgeons, trainees, nursing, consultants, ancillary services, patients, and families.
Promotes effective interprofessional collaboration to improve patient care, service coordination, and team communication.
Supports resident and learner development through informal education, bedside teaching, clinical guidance, and reinforcement of evidence-based practice.
Contributes to quality improvement initiatives, pathway development, protocol implementation, and other service-based improvement efforts.
Helps identify opportunities to improve patient safety, discharge efficiency, documentation quality, and overall inpatient service performance.
Supports daily operational continuity and may assist with orienting or mentoring less experienced APPs or team members as appropriate.
Reinforces a culture of professionalism, accountability, and excellence in patient outcomes across the inpatient surgical services.