Advance Practice Provider - Cancer Rehabilitation Program

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Cancer Rehabilitation Program Advanced Practice Provider (APP), including Nurse Practitioners (NPs) or Physician Assistants (PAs), is an integral member of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s Cancer Rehabilitation Program. The APP provides and coordinates rehabilitation care for individuals with cancer across diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and advanced disease, working collaboratively with Cancer Rehabilitation physicians and interdisciplinary teams. The position supports the development and expansion of comprehensive Cancer Rehabilitation services across Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and in collaboration with affiliated oncology programs and healthcare partners. The APP performs assessments, develops treatment plans, provides treatment and specified procedures, and collaborates with the Cancer Rehabilitation physician. The role includes clinical care in inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient, and acute-care consultation settings, as well as program development, outcomes and quality work, research and innovation, and professional education. The APP is expected to maintain appropriate licensure and certification and successfully obtain and maintain the appropriate level in Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s APP Professional Advancement Program (APP-PAP). The position reports directly to the Chief Medical Officer or Medical Director and reports to a designated physician for clinical supervision. Work takes place in a normal patient care environment, with some exposure to moderately adverse conditions during certain patient care activities and occasional exposure to infectious diseases.

Requirements

Master’s degree from an approved APRN or Physician Assistant program.
Certification by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Nurse Practitioner or Clinical Nurse Specialist, or certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.
Illinois licensure as a registered nurse and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, or Illinois licensure as a Physician Assistant.
Professional experience meeting the minimum requirement for APP-PAP; further experience as outlined in the APP-PAP handbook.
Interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with patients, patient families, referring parties, Institute executives, and treatment team members.
Ability to demonstrate sound medical knowledge and leadership.
Basic Life Support (BLS) certification required.
Maintain all appropriate licensure and certification.
Successfully obtain and maintain the appropriate promoted APP level in the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab APP Professional Advancement Program (APP-PAP).

Nice To Haves

Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certificate preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide specialized clinical care for individuals with cancer in inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient, and acute-care consultation settings, consistent with scope of practice, clinical privileges, and program needs.
In collaboration with Cancer Rehabilitation physicians, evaluate and manage functional impairments, symptoms, and rehabilitation needs associated with cancer and its treatments.
Participate in longitudinal patient management across prehabilitation, active treatment, post-treatment rehabilitation, survivorship, and advanced or palliative cancer care.
Coordinate patient-centered care with physicians, therapists, nursing, oncology and surgical teams, radiation oncology, palliative care, and other disciplines.
Coordinate communication between Cancer Rehabilitation and referring oncology teams to support timely identification, referral, evaluation, and management of patients.
Educate patients and families about functional recovery, symptom management, rehabilitation interventions, exercise and activity recommendations, and supportive resources.
Partner with clinical and administrative leaders to develop, implement, and expand Cancer Rehabilitation programs and models of care.
Help develop and implement clinical pathways, protocols, screening processes, referral mechanisms, and care coordination strategies.
Contribute to programs addressing cancer prehabilitation, rehabilitation during active treatment, survivorship, treatment-related functional impairments, and advanced cancer.
Identify opportunities to improve access and expand appropriate patient populations, referral pathways, and clinical partnerships.
Serve as a clinical resource on Cancer Rehabilitation and cancer-related functional impairments for patients, families, healthcare professionals, and interdisciplinary teams.
Participate in developing, collecting, assessing, and evaluating patient-centered clinical and functional outcomes.
Support collection and analysis of clinical outcomes, patient-reported outcomes, quality measures, and other program data.
Partner with physician leadership and administrative teams to evaluate quality, access, utilization, operational, and financial measures.
Participate in quality improvement initiatives to improve outcomes, patient experience, efficiency, access, and care coordination.
Use clinical and program data to identify improvement opportunities and demonstrate the quality, effectiveness, and value of Cancer Rehabilitation services.
Collaborate with physicians, investigators, research teams, and institutional leadership to support clinical research and innovation.
Participate in research activities, including patient identification and recruitment, research protocol implementation, and outcome collection, consistent with the APP’s role and scope of practice.
Support integration of research and emerging evidence into clinical practice and evaluation of innovative care models.
Contribute to scholarly activities, including quality improvement projects, abstracts, presentations, publications, and dissemination of outcomes.
Participate in education for APPs, residents, fellows, medical students, nursing staff, therapists, and other healthcare professionals.
Contribute to internal and external Cancer Rehabilitation educational programs, competencies, conferences, and other initiatives.
Maintain and expand clinical expertise through continuing education, professional development, scholarly activity, and relevant professional organizations.
Maintain appropriate licensure and certification.
Successfully obtain and maintain the appropriate promoted APP level in the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab APP Professional Advancement Program (APP-PAP).