Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant, Neurosurgery

Cape Cod Healthcare•Hyannis, MA

About The Position

This role involves providing comprehensive care to neurosurgical patients, including performing examinations, interpreting diagnostic tests, developing treatment plans in collaboration with a supervising neurosurgeon, and assisting in surgical procedures. The position requires managing both inpatient and outpatient care, coordinating ancillary services, and serving as a resource for the clinical team. The individual will also be responsible for patient education, handling prescription refills, reviewing medical reports, and contributing to continuous improvement initiatives within the organization.

Requirements

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or higher (for NP)
Currently licensed as a Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (for NP)
US Department of Justice DEA Registration (required if prescribing)
Masters from a program accredited by the ARC-PA (for PA)
Currently licensed as a Physician’s Assistant (PA) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (for PA)

Nice To Haves

1+ years’ experience in Neurosurgery (Preferred)
Surgical First Assist Certification (Preferred)

Responsibilities

Performing comprehensive and problem-focused histories and physical examinations, interpreting laboratory and diagnostic tests.
Interpreting and correlating subjective and objective data to formulate a differential diagnosis and establish a working diagnosis.
Developing a treatment plan for neurosurgical conditions within the scope of practice and in conjunction with the supervising neurosurgeon.
Implementing therapeutic interventions for specific conditions requiring consultation, referral, or evaluation by the supervising neurosurgeon or other healthcare professionals.
Serving as first assistant in surgery under the direct supervision of the supervising neurosurgeon.
Providing consultation and follow-up to both inpatient and emergency room patients, including rounding on hospitalized patients, performing admission history and physicals, and assisting with discharge planning and follow-up.
Providing evaluation and ongoing management of neurosurgical outpatient care.
Presenting patients to the supervising neurosurgeon when appropriate, assisting in formulating treatment plans, ordering radiographic studies, and performing office procedures such as staple/suture removal, wound management, and adjusting programmable shunts and pumps.
Evaluating postoperative patients and conducting routine follow-up visits.
Supporting the surgical decision-making process in collaboration with the neurosurgeon.
Coordinating ancillary care, including referrals to pain management and therapy services.
Being available to see patients requiring same-day office visits.
Returning phone calls from patients, handling prescription refills, and reviewing radiographic and laboratory reports for abnormalities, including x-rays, MRIs, and CT scans of hospitalized and office patients with the supervising neurosurgeon.
Serving as a resource to the office-based nursing and clinical team.
Providing patient education as a necessary part of the treatment plan.
Performing other functions as required.
Consistently providing service excellence to all patients, family members, visitors, volunteers, and co-workers.
Challenging current working practices, identifying process improvement opportunities, and presenting recommendations and solutions to management.
Engaging and committing to the organization’s culture of continuous improvement by actively participating, supporting, and promoting CCHC Pillars of Excellence.