Inpatient Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner – North Seattle, WA

Optum WA, (formerly The Everett Clinic) is seeking a Nurse Practitioner to join our Inpatient Palliative Care Consult service in Everett, WA.  Optum is a clinician-led care organization that is changing the way clinicians work and live.
 
As a member of the Optum Care Delivery team, you’ll be an integral part of our vision to make healthcare better for everyone.
 
At Optum, you’ll have the clinical resources, data and support of a global organization behind you so you can help your patients live healthier lives. Here, you’ll work alongside talented peers in a collaborative environment that is guided by diversity and inclusion while driving towards the Quadruple Aim. We believe you deserve an exceptional career, and will empower you to live your best life at work and at home. Experience the fulfillment of advancing the health of your community with the excitement of contributing new practice ideas and initiatives that could help improve care for millions of patients across the country. Because together, we have the power to make health care better for everyone. Join us and discover how rewarding medicine can be while Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

Position Highlights:

The Inpatient Palliative Consult service supports patients, and their families, dealing with serious illness to create patient-centered, value-concordant, and medically-optimized care plans. Our clinicians help patients understand their most likely future, and how to navigate that future in a way that aligns care with their goals given their medical reality.  We also ensure that pain and other symptoms associated with serious illness are well-managed.

 We are a collaborative team focused on whole-person care and transdisciplinary work. We are passionate about providing our hospital’s most seriously ill patients with compassionate, clinically excellent care.

At Optum Care Washington you will work as an Inpatient provider at Providence Regional Medical Center and experience:

• Flexible work week schedule (4 or 5 day, 40 hour work week as 1.0 FTE).  Partial FTE can be considered.
• Daily interdisciplinary huddles/rounds
• Inpatient family care conferences at the bedside with the interdisciplinary team
• Follow-up visits with patients
• Epic EMR
• Integration and coordination of care with the inpatient hospital teams including hospitalist, critical care, surgical, and emergency medicine teams

Optum Care Washington is looking for a Nurse Practitioner, ideally with direct experience in Palliative care to join our Inpatient Palliative Care Consult service.  Preferred applicants should have demonstrated practice in palliative care and familiarity with medically complex patients, and comfort with prognostication and the ability to help patients and families understand their future.  Applicants should be comfortable receiving and providing feedback to others on the team and learning from all teammates.  

This role will work collaboratively with the Palliative Consult nurse, physician, social worker and chaplain.  A typical day will include seeing new patients, follow-up visits, and interdisciplinary discussions.  The team’s goal is to reduce suffering and non-beneficial medical care for patients near end of life; increasing appropriate hospice referrals (and number of days on hospice); and help other disciplines in the hospital understand and appreciate the value of a big picture approach to care. We also act as a support for healthcare providers who are experiencing distress in caring for patients with severe illness and suffering. 

We are a very collaborative team. We value our dynamic and inclusive team environment where we can lean on our teammates, offer candid feedback, bring our “true selves” to work each day, and deliver meaningful care while having fun along the way.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Performs initial consult and follow-up visits for hospitalized patients.
• Performs thorough patient assessments to obtain an accurate record of the patient’s clinical information and medical symptoms
• Assesses patient’s health and illness trajectory, compassionately advises them on most likely future and what to expect.  Advises a best plan of care given values and medical reality.
• Interprets patient care tests and exams to obtain needed information to guide care. Performs diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures as defined by scope of practice.
• Provides for the treatment of the patient (and oversee the treatment provided by others) including appropriate prescriptive practice to achieve optimal clinical outcomes for the patient.
• Ensures that the care provided is appropriate, effective, timely, and cost efficient.
• Recommends community resources to meet patient and family needs.  Help connect with outpatient services and referrals as needed. 
  
• Appropriately and timely documents clinical care.  Codes and bills accurately per established protocols and procedures.  Ensures that records are detailed, complete, timely and comply with related standards and regulations.
• Work closely with the Palliative Care physician to appropriately cover new consults and follow up visits, and to work collaboratively with the other palliative team members including a full-time Social Worker, Chaplain, and Nurse.
• Communicates clinical information timely, accurately, concisely and appropriately to other providers of patient care following established guidelines.
• May participate in research and utilize evidence-based practice to promote quality patient care, protocol development, care process model development, and best practice standards for assigned patient population.
• Working with Residents and Students may become part of this role. 

You’ll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

• Current WA state license as a Nurse Practitioner (or ability to obtain by start date)
• Certification as a Nurse Practitioner
• Eligible for State Controlled Substance License II through V
• Eligible for Federal DEA Certificate II through V
• BLS for Healthcare Providers
• Two or more years’ experience in palliative care, acute medicine, geriatrics or similar

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience practicing palliative care as a Nurse Practitioner

Compensation for this specialty generally ranges from  $104,500 to $156,000. Total cash compensation includes base pay and bonus and is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience and may increase over time based on productivity and performance in the role. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable. In addition to your salary, we offer benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with us, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives.

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: OptumCare is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employers and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. 
  
OptumCare is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.