Chief Physician Assistant

Position Summary

The Chief Physician Assistant will support Endocrine Surgery and performs history and physical examinations. Establishes a presumptive diagnosis and performs a general work-up including the ordering of appropriate laboratory studies. May assist medical staff with pre, intra- and post-operative surgical activities.

Responsibilities

Clinical Duties:

• Develop and manage new clinic i.e. pancreas cyst clinic.
• Perform minor procedures (e.g. paracentesis, etc).
• Present cases at tumor board and document discussion.
• Develop materials for presentation at regional and national meetings.
• Provide comprehensive medical care in an independent capacity and develop treatment plans according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Assist with hospital consultations as needed.
• Assess patient health status by interview and chart review. Document patient care services by charting in patient’s and department records. Charting must be precise, relevant and entered in a timely manner.
• Performs physical examinations and provides treatment. Recognizes and evaluates patients who require immediate attention and when necessary, initiates medical treatment without direct supervision.
• Determines abnormal conditions by administering or ordering diagnostic tests and laboratory studies; Follows-up on X-rays, CTs scans, MRIs, laboratory data. Interprets and acts on diagnostic test results.
• Performs therapeutic procedures such as injections, immunizations, suturing, suture removal, staples removal, I&Ds, drains removal. Post-operative care, management of wound care and infections.
• Utilizes diagnostic techniques such as observation, palpation, percussion and auscultation.
• Provides follow up care including prescribing or/and appropriate adjustment of medications to patients in accordance with stablished protocols.
• Must have relevant competence in pre-op work up, pre-op clearance and patient optimization prior surgery. Basic knowledge of ECG, lab data and other diagnostic tests interpretation.
• Maintains accurate, complete and relevant patient records. Develops and implements patient management plans, records procedures and visit notes. Accountable for outstanding patient continuity of care.
• Evidence of ability to maintain interpersonal relationships, communicate appropriately to others and work effectively and efficiently to solve problems.
• Able to work independently and make sound clinical decisions when appropriate.
• Demonstrates the ability to work in a team displaying effective communication and critical thinking.
• Visual, physical, auditory and cognitive ability to assess patient status.
• Performs patient and family education to help patients better participate in their care, make informed care decisions and continue care at home.
• Be able to round on in house patients with or on behalf of supervising physician.
• Participates in team meetings, symposiums and interdisciplinary weekly conferences to enhance patient care and outcomes.
• Preview new patients to assess multidisciplinary needs.
• Monitor supervising physician schedule for possible conflicts.
• Coordinates patient plan of care. Reassesses and modifies plan of care as necessary to achieve surgical and health goals. Initiates referrals to specialty services and fosters continuity of care. Collaborates with other caregivers to ensure continuity of care for patients and attain the greatest efficacy in the use of hospital resources in managing patients.
• Be primary point of communication for patients, family members and referring doctors. Be able to keep supervising physician updated about patients’ status in a relevant and efficacious way.
• Must have excellent communication and written skills.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Managerial Duties:

• Responsible for ensuring all standard policies and procedures are followed and credentialing guidelines are met.
• Promote a positive, nurturing and stimulating work environment for all staff.
• Demonstrate the ability to work with department administration to achieve department goals.
• Demonstrate excellent patient care and able to teach/mentor Physician Assistants.
• Demonstrate the ability to monitor the competence of all Physician Assistant.
• Actively recruit qualified Physician Assistants to fill vacancies as they occur.
• Demonstrate the ability to develop and monitor the orientation and training of newly hired Physicians Assistants.
• Actively participate in developing policies and procedures to maintain excellent patient care at the HPB surgical department.
• Demonstrate the ability to coordinate Physician Assistant coverage for all the division needs.
• Demonstrate the ability to coordinate the delivery of medical services with other disciplines within and outside the surgical department.
• Perform annual performance evaluations for Physician Assistants on a timely basis.
• Maintain a liaison with other CUMC departments and outside facilities on an ongoing basis.
• Be the liaison between the Division Chief/physicians and the mid-level team.
• Represent the midlevel team in the monthly divisional meetings with the Division Chief and physicians and execute any new policies or recommendations made.
• Meet quarterly with the Division Chief to go over division achievements and feature goals.
• Be involved in year end/fiscal year budget reviews.
• Be involved in the daily clinical and administrative operations of the Division.
• Maintain patient/employee confidentiality in the management of information.
• Observe the Health Care System’s compliance policies.
• Participate in the development of other staff members.
• Meet regularly with staff and make sure that licensure and annual health assessment requirements are met by all staff.
• Identify learning strengths and needs within the staff.
• Work with Physicians in reviewing and revising care protocols to facilitate optimal patient care.
• Participate in the department’s performance improvement activities.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum education:

• Bachelor's Degree required or equivalent in education and experience.
• Graduate of an accredited AMA CAHEA approved Physician Assistant education program.

Minimum related experience:

• 5 years of Physician Assistant experience.

Minimum licensing/certifications required upon start date:

• Current NYS PA License.
• NCCPA Board Certification.
• BLS & ALS Certification.
• NYS DEA Certification.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience in a medical office setting, utilizing a computer system for physician scheduling preferred.

Other Requirements

Qualifications for Candidates include but are not limited to the following:

• Ability to communicate effectively with multicultural and language-deficit patients.
• Effective interpersonal and communications skills required.
• Excellent telephone etiquette.
• Must be able to adapt to a growing and changing environment.

Job Details:

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule: Mon - Fri (9am - 5pm)
• Building: Columbia University Medical Center
• Salary Range: $160,000.00 - $190,000.00

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.