St. Luke's is proud of the skills, experience and compassion of its employees. The employees of St. Luke's are our most valuable asset! Individually and together, our employees are dedicated to satisfying the mission of our organization which is an unwavering commitment to excellence as we care for the sick and injured; educate physicians, nurses and other health care providers; and improve access to care in the communities we serve, regardless of a patient's ability to pay for health care.

The Cardiac Surgery Advanced Practitioner is responsible for assisting in the pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative care of the patient under the supervising physician. Additionally, the Advanced Practitioner is responsible for providing 24 hour coverage for Cardiac Surgery emergency cases from home as scheduled by the Chief Physician Assistant. As with any other health care professional, the Cardiac Advanced Practitioner is charged with being a patient advocate in the health care system.

• Performs initial clinical evaluation, including history and physical of all cardiac surgery patients to include inpatients, arriving transfers and emergency patients, differentiating between normal and abnormal clinical conditions, physical findings, and laboratory /diagnostic tests. Communicates abnormal findings to the supervising physician.
• Daily evaluations and rounding of post-operative cardiac patients, determining and ordering appropriate studies and therapeutic regimens in conjunction with the attending surgeon.
• Function as a resource for the cardiac surgery case manager. Assists supervising physician in the intra-operative care of the surgical patient during scheduled and emergency procedures including patient positioning, endoscopic harvest of saphenous vein, harvesting of radial artery, and IABP.
• Establishing and maintaining sterile field. First/second surgical assist, drain placement, wound closure and techniques for application of sterile dressings.
• Post-operative rounds/assessment/management of all cardiac surgical patients. Completion of immediate post-operative and transfer orders with surgeon review.
• Procedures to include but not limited to the following: Insertion of arterial, central venous, and nasogastric catheters/tubes, insertion/repositioning of Swanz Ganz catheters, insertion/removal of IABP chest tubes and other drain catheters, change/exchange of cordis catheters and triple lumen catheters, thoracentesis, open chest resuscitation and initiate appropriate evaluation and emergency management for emergency situations.
• Transcribe physician orders appropriate to post-operative cardiothoracic surgical procedures and patients.
• Knowledge of CAOS and STS databases and completion of cardiac surgery database forms. Performs therapeutic and diagnostic procedures as directed by supervising physician and as allowed by institution credentialing to include chest tube removal and procedures in CSICU.
• Evaluate in-house cardiothoracic consultations; organize data, laboratory findings and imaging studies for presentation to the attending surgeon. Attends appropriate continuing medical education to maintain the National Certification and Pennsylvania License.
• Assist in outpatient clinics, including primary and satellite locations, with supervised evaluation of patients, dictation of office notes and consultations, and communicates with attending, referring and primary physicians.
• Performs patient teaching where appropriate.
• Assists with maintaining efficient and effective patient flow and patient record keeping within clinic settings. Assists in creation and implementation of care pathway for post-operative cardiothoracic surgical patient. Identify and troubleshoot pathway variance.
• Completion of appropriate discharge teaching and discharge summary for the cardiothoracic surgery patient. Initiates appropriate evaluation and management for emergency situations.

PHYSICAL AND SENSORY REQUIREMENTS: Sitting for up to 3 hours per day and 3 hours at a time. Standing for up to 8 hours per day, 8 hours at a time. Walking for up to 6 hours per day, 1 hour at a time. Frequently fingering, handling, firm grasping and twisting and turning as it relates to operative procedures or assisting in surgery. Rarely lifting, with assistance, up to 100 lbs. Rarely pushing and pulling patients weighing up to 300 lbs in a wheelchair or bed. Occasionally stooping and bending. Seeing as it relates to normal and far vision, and hearing as it relates to both high and low frequencies.

EDUCATION:

Medical Physician Assistant, or Osteopathic Physician Assistant with current license to practice in the state of Pennsylvania. Physician Assistants must also have a current certification through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:
Training in surgery with at least one year of surgical or cardiothoracic experience preferred. Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification required or must be completed as part of the orientation process.

WORK SCHEDULE: Monday through Sunday, hours as assigned. On-call as assigned.

Please complete your application using your full legal name and current home address. Be sure to include employment history for the past seven (7) years, including your present employer. Additionally, you are encouraged to upload a current resume, including all work history, education, and/or certifications and licenses, if applicable. It is highly recommended that you create a profile at the conclusion of submitting your first application. Thank you for your interest in St. Luke's!!

St. Luke's University Health Network is an Equal Opportunity Employer.