Position Description

The Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington has a unique opportunity for one (1) full-time Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) to join the Inpatient Palliative Care Service (PCS) at the University of Washington Medical Center - Northwest as a Teaching Associate. This is a 1.0 FTE position with an expected start date of November 1, 2023, or soon thereafter.

Teaching Associates hold annual appointments that align with a 12-month service period (July 1-June 30) and may be reappointed to subsequent annual terms. Faculty with 12-month service periods are paid for 11 months of service over a 12-month period (July-June), meaning the equivalent of one month is available for paid time off.

The full-time base salary range for this position will be: $9,167 - $12,917 per month ($110,000 - $155,000 annually) to be pro-rated based on FTE and commensurate with experience and qualifications, or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination. This range is inclusive of base salary provided through the UW Physicians (UWP) practice plan, in addition to base salary provided by the University. Please note that only compensation provided by the University is included in University benefit determinations and calculations. Compensation provided by the UW Physicians (UWP) practice plan may provide eligibility for separate benefits offered by that organization.

Other compensation associated with this position may include incentive through the UW Physicians practice plan.

For practitioners holding an appointment with the UW Physicians practice plan, see this link for additional benefits that may be available: https://faculty.uwmedicine.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/UWP-Benefits-Summary-for-recruitingef-edits-v3.pdf

The Department of Family Medicine is committed to promoting health equity and creating an inclusive culture by maintaining a diverse faculty and values each individual's unique contributions. Priority will be given to candidates with experience who have demonstrated a commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The Department of Family Medicine is committed to building a culturally diverse faculty and strongly encourages applications from minority candidates.

STANDARDS OF PRACTICE AND PERFORMANCE

1. Provides timely initial patient and family assessment for palliative care consults.
2. Admits, discharges, and provides clinical management of patients admitted to the Northwest Campus for inpatient hospice or comfort care.
3. Participates in assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating palliative care interventions, including acute and chronic pain and symptom management.
4. Collaborates with the other providers to ensure coordination and continuity of care across settings and over time.
5. Provide patient and family with health education, counseling, and referrals to other health professionals and community resources as appropriate.
6. Participate as a key interprofessional team member by developing collaborative and innovative practices and evaluating patient care outcomes.
7. Evaluate quality outcomes for the PCS through participation in developing palliative care quality indicators.

Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner Duties

1) The Palliative Care ARNP maintains excellent interpersonal skills using narrative medicine to execute the UWMC Palliative Care Best Practice Model.

a) Establishing a therapeutic relationship by committing to care for the patient and family through the life-limiting illness and beyond.

b) Connecting with the patient and family by eliciting the patient/family perspective and validating the value of that perspective using strong empathic listening skills.

c) Communicating a sense of caring and openness.

d) Describing the concept that "good medical care" is a combination of excellent biomedical treatment with the patient's ability to continue to live a life that has meaning and makes sense to them.

e) Mindfully eliciting the patient's story, listening for cues, and interspersing probing and clarifying questions into the narrative.

f) Assist the patient and family in clarifying their values and goals for living the best life possible and helping them understand what medical care can support these goals. Stress what medical treatments are consistent with supporting these shared goals/decisions and which treatments are inconsistent with these shared/decision goals.

2) The Palliative Care ARNP provides clinical consultation and management in all the domains of palliative care.

a) patient/family/provider communication about disease and treatment and how it relates to patient values and priorities,

b) goals of care across the spectrum from aggressive/curative, disease control/life extension to comfort care/hospice.

c) pain and symptom management,

d) End-of-life care planning from resuscitation clarification or preferred location of care (home/hospital/SNF) to complex patient/family or patient/provider mediation or withdrawal of life support.

e) Participates in call as needed for the Palliative Care Service

3) The Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner collaborates with the patient's primary attending provider as indicated.

a) Develop and implement palliative care plans for primary and consultative patients

b) Develops and contributes to the plan of care.

c) Orders diagnostics/treatments as needed.

d) Promotes a collaborative approach to decision-making.

4) The Palliative Care ARNP educates Fellows, Residents, UWSOM students, ARNP & PA students, and UWMC staff on all aspects of palliative care.

a) Participates as faculty in formal palliative care classes

b) Assists in training medical students, residents, and fellows on the palliative care and primary medical teams.

c) Precepts students individually.

d) Participates in Nursing Education.

5) The Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner assists in palliative care program development as documented below:

a) Develop innovative policies, protocols, and procedures using an evidence-based approach to improve the quality, safety, and value of palliative care.

b) Participates with UWMC colleagues on pain and symptom management protocol development.

c) Participates with interagency colleagues in palliative care program development across inpatient, outpatient, and community agencies.

Qualifications

1. Washington State Medical License (DEA and NPI) as an ARNP

2. Graduate Degree from an accredited Nurse Practitioner Program

3. Nationally certified ARNP with DEA; Board certification (or eligibility) as an Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse

4. Minimum of 12 months experience working in Palliative Care/Hospice

Instructions

Interested applicants should apply with a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, contact information for at least two references and a statement of past and planned contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion (i.e., diversity statement).

Inquiries should be directed to James Fausto, M.D., Medical Director of Palliative Care for UW Medicine at jfausto@uw.edu

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.

Benefits Information

A summary of benefits associated with this title/rank can be found at https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/benefits-orientation/benefit-summary-pdfs/. Appointees solely employed and paid directly by a non-UW entity are not UW employees and are not eligible for UW or Washington State employee benefits.

Commitment to Diversity

The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University's Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member's academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).

Privacy Notice

Review the University of Washington Privacy Notice for Demographic Data of Job Applicants and University Personnel to learn how your demographic data are protected, when the data may be used, and your rights.

Disability Services

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.