Clinical Assistant

**Req ID**:136263**
**Company: Nova Scotia Health**
**Location**:Central** Zone, **Halifax Infirmary Robie Street Entrance - QEII**
**Department**:MED Clinical Assistants**
**Type of Employment**:Permanent** **Hourly FT** (**100%** FTE) x **1** position(s)**
**Status: MGMT/NON-Union** **Management/Non Union** Position**
**Posting Closing Date**:11-Jul-22**

Nova Scotia Health is the largest provider of health services in Nova Scotia, with some specialized services also offered to clients throughout Atlantic Canada. We’re on a mission to achieve excellence in health, healing and learning through working together, which is reflected in the hospitals, health centres and community-based programs we operate across the province. Our passionate team of professionals provides a variety of high-quality inpatient and outpatient services including academic, tertiary, and quaternary care, as well as continuing care, primary health care, public health, and mental health and addictions. Join a diverse team of innovators, collaborators and creative thinkers today.

**Responsibilities**:
Responsibilities for Inpatient Care

Clinical Assistants are physicians licensed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (CPSNS) and employed by the NSHA to provide medical care. The Clinical Assistant is assigned to the Central Zone Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery. Clinical Assistants report directly to the Division Head of Neurosurgery (CPSNS Supervisor) or his/her designate, and indirectly to the Executive Medical Director, Central Zone. Clinical Assistants are supervised daily through direct and indirect supervision and are never the most responsible physician.

Clinical Responsibilities- Functions as a member of the Neurosurgery team. Makes regular rounds with supervising staff, fellows, and residents on the wards, the emergency department and in the ICU as required.
- Works with attending staff, nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, social workers, physiotherapists, physician house staff, and other members of the health care team in the development and delivery of the overall patient care program.
- Communicates with patients, families, referring and family physicians concerning patient management plans.
- Performs and documents admission history and physical examinations, progress notes, discharge summaries, death certificates, medication reconciliations, etc.
- Manages the day-to-day care of patients, including writing medical orders on charts and consultations of other services and responding to emergencies in hospital, in consultation with attending staff.
- If competency to do so has been established and signed off by Division Head or his/her designate, the CA will conduct assessments of patients in the emergency room and in-house patient consultations to Neurosurgery. This includes the Neurosurgery assessment of the trauma patient.
- Performs procedures within the scope of his/her demonstrated competence including: the insertion of peripheral intravenous lines, initiation of intravenous medication, taking blood samples for diagnostic purposes or arterial blood gases, insertion of Foley catheters, insertion of naso-gastric tubes, assessment of surgical wounds, suturing of surgical wounds, removal of sutures, removal of surgical drains, insertion/removal of central venous catheters, and insertion/removal of external ventricular drain (EVD) for CSF drainage and/or intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring. In any and all of the above, the Assistant will not proceed until full training and competence has been established with sign off by the Division Head or his/her designate.
- Assists in the operating room when on call or when no residents are available during the day. At no time will the clinical assistant be left alone in the operating room. The clinical assistant will not be responsible for any intra-operative decision making. The clinic assistant may be trained to do simple tasks such as skin/scalp stapling or suturing but again, always under the guidance of the staff member.
- Follows through on investigations and arranges follow-up outpatient visits.
- Participates in on-call responsibilities of the service.
- These responsibilities are meant to be indicative of the job responsibilities and duties and are not all-inclusive.

**Qualifications**:

- CMPA coverage required
- ACLS certification required
- Good command of written and spoken English
- Must be able to promote and maintain good interpersonal skills
- Completion of the equivalence of a rotating internship and postgraduate training and experience in Neurosurgery are consider assets
- Physical demand - Must be able to sit, stand, walk and perform duties as outlined above
- Mental and Visual demand - High; must be able to deal with stressful situations
- Competencies in other languages an asset; French preferred

**Hours of Work**:
Permanent full time position; 96 hours biweekly

**Salary Information**:
$48.45 - 61.72 hourly

**Once You've Ap