Title: Physician Assistant – Cardiac

Department: Physician Assistants

Hours of Work: TemporaryFull-Time position (Approximately 12 months); Rotating

Hourly Wage: $95,642.82 - $123,185.21 per annum

Union: OPAA (Ontario Physician Assistant Association)

Location: Kingston General Hospital site & Hotel Dieu Hospital Site (and potentially satellite sites)

POSITION SUMMARY:

Physician Assistants (PAs) are regulated health professionals under the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). They practice medicine under delegation and supervision agreements while exercising independent judgment within their regulated scope. PAs apply evidence-based medical knowledge to provide safe, effective, and ethical care that supports access, efficiency, and continuity of patient care across KHSC. PAs are educated along the medical model and function as “physician extenders”. PAs actively participate in the medical care of patients by conducting patient histories and physical examinations, ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests, formulating differential diagnoses and collaborating with their Supervising Physician(s) to determine a finite diagnosis with appropriate treatment plan. This allows patients to have efficient access to medical care while simultaneously relieving the burden of attending physicians. Having a PA can improve continuity of care, increase access to quality health care, increase discharge rates and decrease length of inpatient stay.

RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES INCLUDE:

Clinical Service and Direct Patient Care

• Inpatient Rounding:
  • Conducting and charting patient histories, physical exams, assessing patient response to treatment
  • Ordering and interpreting investigations
  • Consulting medical specialties and allied health professionals
  • Ordering pharmacologic and supportive care: medical therapy, oxygen, intravenous lines, supplementary diets, bladder care, wound care, activity level etc
  • Outpatient Clinic: perform new and follow up assessments for patients in clinic
  • Consultations: new patient assessments as requested by medical specialist (ie, ICU, ED, inpatient ward, outpatient clinic, MSAP clinic)
  • Patient & Family Education: provide instructions to raise awareness, decrease morbidity/mortality and promote health maintenance.

Operative Room Assisting and Performing Minor Procedures

• Surgical assisting: intraoperative first assists for neurosurgical cases (emergencies and elective)
• Procedures: Depending on the clinical setting and a PA’s individual scope-of-practice, procedures can include;
• External Ventricular Drain
• Paracentesis
• Feeding tubes
• Lumbar punctures and Lumbar Drains
• Suturing
• Punch Biopsies
• Thoracentesis
• Casting
  • Central Lines

Sanctioning Patient Flow and Discharge Planning

• Multidisciplinary Rounds: attending interdisciplinary team and board rounds for disposition planning.

• Discharges: liaise with Supervising Physician(s), nursing staff and allied health professionals to organize discharge plan and outpatient services. PAs are also responsible for providing physician hand-over (ie; doctor-to-doctor or transfer notes), completing discharge summaries, ordering follow-up instructions and writing scripts in compliance with KHSC and CPSO requirements.

• Admissions: activating treatment plan for new admissions, writing admission and/or post-operative orders.

• Transfers: assessing patient readiness for intra-hospital transfer (ie, step-down to ward, ward-step down) and inter-hospital transfer (ie, repatriation to local hospital, or transfer to rehab facility, convalescent care etc)

Provide Clinical and Professional Leadership

• Provide clinical leadership to allied health, nursing staff, and medical learners.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of institutional policies, procedures, practices and performance standards:
  • Creation, implementation and maintenance of Medical Directives.
  • Continuously evolving scope-of-practice and skill set.
  • Learning plans & procedure logs.
  • Evaluation of residents and medical learners for their Competency Based Learning requirements
• Lead as a change agent and support the implementation of key practice initiatives.
  • PA assessments in MSAP clinic to decrease outpatient wait times
  • PA participation in the “on-call” schedule: allowing for advanced medical care on evenings/weekends when there is no direct coverage by physician or resident. PAs act as first responders for incoming consults through ED/ICU/inpatient wards, manage acute emergencies on inpatients, round on the wards, sanction patient flow, assist in the OR, perform high risk procedures. This is novel as PAs at KHSC are the first non-MDs to participate in such a schedule and act as immediate medical practitioners with advanced subspecialized skill sets o
  • Investigating pilot project for PA run procedure clinic with goal of decreasing wait times for surgery and offload emergency OR board. –
  • Work with the Program Manager to contribute to performance discussions.
  • Anticipate emergent and future issues and provide vision in both short and long term goal setting and planning within the Program and at the organizational level (ie., after hour coverage, procedure rooms, MSAP)
  • Participates on appropriate committees, both at the Divisional, Program and Organization level

Contribute to clinical/professional/personal development through mentoring and coaching.

• PAs are a clinical resource for frontline medical staff to facilitate the integration of evidence-based knowledge into practice.

• Models critical thinking, intervention and leadership skills.

• Engages in bedside teaching for medical students and inter-professional learners.

• Reviews consults and supervises procedures done by medical learners.

• Formal evaluation of residents and medical students rotating through service for mandatory “Competency Based Learning” objectives. This is done via direct observation of procedural skill set, medical knowledge, professionalism etc.

• Teaching of allied health team and nursing staff regarding patient assessment and medical decision-making.

• Preceptoring Physician Assistant students rotating through clinical service.

• Giving formal educational sessions/presentations during teaching rounds and also to accredited PA Education Programs (ie, McMaster University and University of Toronto PA Programs).

• NOTE - The above duties are representative but are not to be construed as all-inclusive. A complete job description is available from People Services on Watkins 4.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Completion of a Bachelor or Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree from an accredited Canadian (or US) program or Department of Defense (Military) education/experience.

• 1 – 3 years Physician Assistant related experience.

• Registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) is required, along with proof of current PACCC certification and $10 million professional liability coverage.

• Must be certified by either the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants (in the U.S.) or the Physician Assistant Certification Council of Canada.

• Must adhere to professional maintenance requirements by the Physician Assistant Certification Council of Canada (PACCC).

• Must meet the competencies outline by the province in the Defining the Physician Assistant Role in Ontario (http://www.healthforceontario.ca/UserFiles/file/AHP/Inside/PA-role-april-2007-en.pdf).

• Other certifications include BCLS, ACLS, +ATLS.

• Demonstrated ability to educate patients and families.

• Demonstrated leadership and collaboration skills within the interprofessional care team.

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, presentation, and documentation skills.

• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively with all team members.

• Evidence of strong mentoring, teaching, team building, change leadership, organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to work well in stressful situations.

• Demonstrated ability to effectively deal with conflict situations and proactively and effectively resolve issues impacting on quality and continuity of care.

• Exceptional time management, organizational and prioritization skills.

• Demonstrated ability to problem solve and make evidence-based decisions.

• Demonstrated critical thinking and decision-making skills.

• Demonstrated ability to interpret/participate in research.

• Demonstrated knowledge of computer database and data analysis.

• Satisfactory criminal reference check required.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

The applicant must be able to meet the physical demands of this position.

KHSC is located on the ancestral lands and waters of the Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee and serves a wider geographical area that encompasses many Indigenous communities including Tyendinaga, Katarokwi, as well as communities within the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority. As we partner in care, discovery, and learning to achieve better health outcomes for our communities, KHSC is committed to actively advocating for and acting upon the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s Calls to Action on Health.

Unless specifically stated, all job postings are for existing positions at KHSC. KHSC is committed to recruitment practices that support and contribute to building a respectful, diverse and inclusive workplace in compliance with legislation such as the Employment Standards Act and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. We welcome all applications from women, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, persons in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and members of other equity deserving groups.

We thank all applicants, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Kingston Health Sciences Centre is committed to inclusive and accessible employment practices. If you require an accommodation to fully participate in the hiring process, please notify the Recruitment Team.