Physician Assistant

**Job Description**:
**Position Summary**:
The Gastroenterology Physician Assistant (PA) is a healthcare provider who always works under the supervision of a registered physician. The PA supports the physician as the principal medical decision maker, as the supervising physician is responsible for the direction of all PA activity. PAs are highly skilled providers that have the knowledge, skills, and experience to work as part of a physician-led team in a variety of clinical settings. In general, PAs have the skills and experience to deal with medical emergencies, specialized care, and everyday healthcare needs. Clinical expert competencies are central to the function of PAs and draw on the other competencies of Communication, Collaboration, Management, Health Advocacy, Scholar, and Professionalism.

**Qualifications**:

- Secondary School Diploma or Equivalent
- Undergraduate Degree
- Graduate of a Canadian or US-Accredited Physician Assistant Education Program - mandatory
- Eligible to challenge the National Physician Assistant Certificate Exam, or Canadian Physician Assistant Certification - mandatory
- BCLS and ACLS

**Experience**:

- Two years experience managing inpatients, preferred
- Working Gastroenterology knowledge, preferred

**Competencies**:

- Integrate all the core PA competencies to provide optimal, ethical, and patient-centered medical care
- Perform a complete and appropriate clinical assessment of a patient and formulate a clinical treatment plan
- Use preventive and therapeutic interventions effectively
- Demonstrate proficient and appropriate use of diagnostic and procedural skills
- Recognize their scope of practice while demonstrating effective and appropriate consultation practice with other healthcare professionals in respect to patient care, education, and legal opinions

**Responsibilities**:
**Clinical Assessment of Patients**
- Obtain health history as appropriate, including patient demographics, chief complaint, history of the present illness or injury, past medical, surgical, family, and relevant psychosocial history, medications, allergies, and systems review. Ensuring pre-op and post-op assessments are completed and documented
- Conduct comprehensive and focused physical assessments and interpret findings. This includes assessment of vital signs and examination of major body systems.
- Utilize primary and secondary assessment results to formulate a differential diagnosis and determine if further clinical investigation is required in conjunction with the most responsible physician.
- Order and complete preliminary interpretation of necessary diagnostic tests, which may include, but are not limited to, hematology, microbiology, chemistry, serology, urinalysis, blood gas, ECG, and plain film x-ray.

**Demonstrate at least an academic understanding of the performance of the following diagnostic procedures**:

- Routine and micro-urinalysis
- Basic hematology
- Chemistry
- Microbiology

**Communication**
- When/as directed by a registered physician:

- Provide relevant information and explanations, including a proposed treatment plan, to the supervising physician and seek further direction where appropriate.
- Provide education to patients, families, and other health providers as appropriate to the clinical setting.
- Communicate with other members of the health care team and other hospital departments, both orally, in writing, and electronically.

**Medical Documentation and Record Keeping**
- Maintain clear, accurate and appropriate records of the patient encounter and management plan
- Admission of notes, progress notes and discharge notes as needed
- Consultation requests
- Other types of documentation as required by the particular setting

**Consultation with a Multidisciplinary team and Gastroenterologists**
- Collaboration with all members of the healthcare team in caring for all Gastroenterology patients
- Working with other specialists including Internal Medicine, Intensivists, and Surgery in caring for Gastroenterology patients