Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner/Palliative Care Educator

Company

Compassus

Position Summary

The Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner/Palliative Care Educator is responsible for modeling the Compassus values of Compassion, Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork, and Innovation and for promoting the Compassus philosophy, using the 6 Pillars of Success as the foundation. S/he is responsible for upholding the Code of Ethical Conduct and for promoting positive working relationships within the company, among all departments, and all external stakeholders. The Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner/Palliative Care Educator is a dual role that assists Palliative Care leadership in maintaining the clinical and educational integrity of Compassus' palliative care orientation and education across all of its markets to deliver exceptional quality palliative care to patients and families. S/he works intimately with regional and program leadership to achieve educational and clinical outcomes that ensure the success of the palliative care

programs.

The Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner/Palliative Care Educator, if providing palliative care, cares for patients facing chronic, complex, and/or life-threatening conditions at various locations within the flow of patient care. S/he provides assessments, disease and treatment education, and symptom management to meet the needs of palliative care patients and their families. The Nurse Practitioner helps the patient and family maintain their maximum level of comfort and coping. S/he provides care and support in collaboration with the PCP and specialists; and ensures compliance with practice standards and codes. S/he must collaborate appropriately with the assigned Compassus Medical Director. S/he must flex schedule to meet agency needs. The Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner/Palliative Care Educator, if providing hospice care, functions as an extension of the interdisciplinary team (IDT) and hospice physician to provide routine recertification and emergency assessments, educational, and evaluative services to meet the needs of patients and their families. S/he helps the patient and family maintain their maximum level of comfort and coping. S/he flexes schedule to meet agency visit needs and may be asked to provide after-hours emergency visits and/ or admissions.

Position Specific Responsibilities

• Performs routine and urgent assessments:
• Ability to triage consults by patient acuity.
• Performs bedside palliative care with patient/family education.
• Orders, performs, and interprets laboratory and radiology tests within scope of professional practice.
• Prescribes medications including controlled substances to the extent delegated and licensed.
• Orders treatments and durable medical equipment as indicated.
• Performs other therapeutic measures as indicated.
• Consults with palliative care physician or designees as needed, informs primary physician of services provided and collaborate with other physicians as needed.
• Assists in all facets of care coordination for palliative care referrals.
• Prepares and maintains accurate patient records, charts, and documents to support sound medical practice and reimbursement for services provided.
• Complies with applicable laws and regulations with respect to Collaborative Agreements.
• Completes accurate billing and coding activities for all patient encounters according to CMS guidelines.
• Defines goals for professional growth and participates actively in professional activities and organizations.
• Engages in active and frequent self-care activities for personal and professional growth and longevity.
• Adheres to the practice of confidentiality regarding patients, families, staff and the Organization.
• Assists patients and families in identification of goals of treatment and ongoing plans of care at every visit. Communicates these goals among Interdisciplinary Team (IDT).
  

Collaborates/Communicates with Medical Director, attending Physician, hospital staff and IDT:

• Participates in monthly IDT meeting with market team.
• Collaborates/ Communicates with IDT needs of patient for clinical and psycho-social interventions.
• Assists in identifying the need for intervention of other IDT members.
• Effectively communicates patient and family needs to IDT.
• Completes and submits required clinical documentation within 24 hours of visit completion.
  
  

Educates Patient And Caregiver Regarding

• Care of patient.
• Disease process.
• Goal setting.
• Symptom control.
• Treatment options.
• Prognosis.
• Advance Care Planning.

• Demonstrates thorough and integrated understanding and application of advanced illness management and palliative care.
• Collaborates with the palliative care leadership team and medical providers to plan, develop, coordinate, and provide standardized competency-based orientation, specialized education, and ongoing in-service programs for clinical employees and contracted entities, ensuring the provision of quality care and compliance with palliative care standards, and regulatory and agency requirements.
• Assists in the facilitation of education and new hire onboarding for clinical staff in defined region or as directed by palliative leadership for the palliative care program (Medical Director, APRN, RN, SW, support staff).
• Serves as a resource to palliative care team members within their defined region, and clinical expert on palliative care to other internal teams.
• Incorporates practices to promote staff teamwork including building rapport and morale, which may include the facilitation of team-building activities in clinical and ancillary departments when required.
• Assists with hiring palliative care providers for palliative care programs by participating in the interview process when required.
• Measures, documents, and supports competency and addresses any deficiencies in palliative care provider's competency within defined region or as directed by palliative leadership.
• Works with palliative care leadership to promote the path for palliative care providers to obtain hospice/palliative care certification.
• Works with palliative care leadership to develop guidelines/standards in support of quality palliative care.
• Assists palliative care leadership Team with designing and developing learning tools, including training manuals, modules, clinical guidelines, and workflow plans when required.
• Assists palliative care leadership to promote compliance with billing accuracy and billing education when needed.
• Assists with the internal audits for quality and performance improvement when required and develops education for palliative care providers based on findings.
• Ability to master electronic medical records and act as a resource to staff.
• Collaborates with Compassus Program leadership and palliative care providers to deliver exceptional quality palliative care education and orientation to palliative care teams nationwide.
• Provides one-on-one or group learning via video conferencing and didactic mentoring to newly hired palliative care providers, working in collaboration with regional/ local hubs for a total orientation experience.
• Monitors completion of competencies for both newly hired and current staff based on discipline-specific curriculum.
• Serves as a teacher and clinical resource to Compassus team members in need of in-service and/or ongoing education, as well as to external audiences when required.
• Ability to conduct and prioritize an environmental scan of educational needs (organizationally and with individuals), and assist with the creation, evaluation, and/or revision of academic or continuing education programs when required.
• Assists the palliative care leadership in the design of education, orientation and training programs, and revises current programs based on evidence-based research and practice findings when required.
• Assists with the development of evidence-based quality metric education and value-based outcome goals.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
  
  

Education And/or Experience

• Master's degree in Nursing required.
• Combination of relevant education and experience will be considered.
• Minimum of five (5) years of related experience required, preferably in clinical nursing care in palliative care, oncology, hospice, geriatrics, acute care and/or intensive care.
• Experience in home and inpatient care settings and proficiency in palliative symptom management and advanced illness care required.
• Teaching or equivalent experience preferred.
  
  

Skills

• Mathematical Skills: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percentage.
• Language Skills: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from leaders, team members, investors, and external parties. Strong written and verbal communications.
• Other Skills and Abilities: Ability to understand, read, write, and speak English. Articulates and embraces integrated healthcare at home philosophy.
  
  

Certifications, Licenses, and Registrations

• State licensure as a Nurse Practitioner or Clinical Nurse Specialist strongly preferred.
• Current Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nursing (ACHPN) certification strongly preferred or willing to obtain certification within 12 months.
• Active NPI number.
• Maintain active DEA certification if state allows prescription of controlled substances by APPs.
  
  

Physical Demands and Work Environment: The demands of this role necessitate a team member to effectively perform essential functions. Adaptations can be made to accommodate team members with disabilities. Regular standing, walking, and manual dexterity are fundamental, along with the ability to lift and move objects up to 50 pounds. Visual acuity requirements include close and distance vision, color and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. In a healthcare setting, exposure to bodily fluids, infectious diseases, and conditions typical to the field is expected. Routine use of standard medical equipment and tools associated with clinical care is essential. This description provides a general overview and may vary by role and department, capturing the nuanced demands and conditions inherent to clinical positions in our organization.

At Compassus, including all Compassus affiliates, diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental to our Pillars of Success. We are committed to creating a fair work environment where our team members feel welcomed, highly valued, and respected. As an equal opportunity employer, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.