Neonatal Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship

Neonatal Practitioner (NNP) Fellowship

Neonatal Practitioner (NNP) Fellowship, designed for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and Physician Assistant (PA) seeking specialized training in neonatal care. This comprehensive program provides hands-on experience, structured mentorship, and advanced clinical training within a high-acuity neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Essential Job Statement

Expert Coaching & Guidance: Developing and evaluating educational materials and teaching interventions for staff, patients/caregivers, and the community. Fostering skill development of others. Assessment, diagnosis, and monitoring to improve the skills of students and staff. Mentoring the APN's role in the health system to promote quality patient outcomes.

Consultation: The APP maintains a therapeutic relationship with the patients, caregivers, and staff throughout the health care continuum. Consultation and support is evidenced by:

• The ability to organize and facilitate patient support groups as needed. Serving as a liaison, translator and negotiator for staff, patients and families.
• Utilizing experiences and resources to staff regarding routine and unusual therapeutic interventions. Promoting teamwork through effective communication and feedback to team members.
• Recognizes team as integral to individual effectiveness and quality patient outcomes. Identifying unit, departmental/regional, and hospital issues.
• Suggests changes in an effort to connect system problems. Functions as a consultant in the multi-disciplinary team.

Research Skills: The APP participates in clinical practices for a population of patients based on the application of clinical research findings and evidence-based practices as evidenced by:

• Identifying areas of need for nursing or medical research. Actively seeks/ participates in and/or monitors this research.
• Utilizing current research to develop, implement and evaluate critical paths and standards of care for identified patient populations. Incorporating research findings into practice.
• Contributing to the profession through participation in research, publications, consultation and/or educational activities.

Leadership: The APP works with colleagues and or professional organizations in the advancement of clinical practice and fosters professional leadership behaviors as evidenced by:

• Consistently using nurse/patient relationship to positively affect the health care experience and promote adaptation to changing health status.
• Utilizing the Performance Improvement Process to address clinical practice and system changes within the organization. Seeking out opportunities for professional growth through organizational affiliations and certification in specialty area.
• Demonstrating mastery of nursing care of specialty populations.
• Expert documentation reflecting holistic and interdisciplinary patient care. Initiating and participating in departmental/specialty educational endeavors. Case managing identified target populations and diseases.
• Valuing the patient/family right to receive quality cost effective care and facilitates this process.
• Looked upon as a role model self-leadership in own professional development: setting outcomes, seeking needed resources or learning, seeking and accepting feedback.
• Serving as a preceptor for advanced practitioners/students/medical staff/nursing staff and others.

Collaboration: The APP initiates referrals and coordinates the health care team to meet the patient/family needs by utilizing collaborative relationships between nursing and other disciplines as evidenced by:

• Collaborating in development, implementation, communication, and monitoring of the multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary plan of care for complex patients.
• Structuring multidisciplinary systems to facilitate these processes.
• Working with others to promote health and present illness in patients, families, staff, and community. Networking with payers and community resources to ensure quality outcomes.
• Participating as a team leader/member in the provision of health care.
• Interacting with professional colleagues (within/outside the facility) to provide comprehensive continuity of care.

Advanced Practice Provider: The APP's grasp of clinical situations reflects comprehensive knowledge and experience as evidenced by:

• Assessing the health status of individuals through health histories, by performing physical examination, initiating screening, ordering or performing a diagnostic, and therapeutic intervention requiring skill and education beyond that of a registered nurse. Interpreting information obtained from history and physical and developing a treatment plan.
• Formulating and prioritizing appropriate short-term and long-term therapeutic plans when indicated.
• Plan of care incorporates the physical, spiritual, cultural, and psychosocial aspects of patients and families to promote optimum levels of health.
• Management of patients in clinical specialty and other related disorders in individuals. Focusing on health maintenance in clinical management of chronically ill patients.
• Initiating emergency procedures as indicated.
• Exploring strategies to decrease length of stay and resource consumption within specialty.
• Utilizing clinical pathways to coordinate patient care across the full continuum of services: inpatient, ambulatory and home health, or through the patient's trajectory of illness.
• Establishing priorities to meet the health needs of the individual, family or community.
• Developing a treatment plan, establishing a mutually acceptable evidence based, cost effective plan of care to maximize health potential.

Ethical Decision-making Skills: The APP adheres to ethical principles that reflect the standards of the organization and individual behaviors as evidenced by: Incorporating the use of the nursing process and clinical judgment in ethical decision making. Practicing the principles of ethics in decision making for patients. Promoting the use of interdisciplinary collaborative processes to resolve ethical dilemmas. Demonstrating appropriate use of skills of negotiation, mediation, collaboration, compromise, and accommodation to assist families struggling with ethical decisions. Displaying the ability to examine patient's values that impact treatment decision-making preferences. Recognition of patient rights as a foundation for ethical decisions.

Miscellaneous Responsibilities: Performs other duties as assigned and/or participates in special projects in order to support the mission of VCUHS and department. Provides assistance to team members. Accepts alternate assignments, as required, graciously.

Patient Population: Demonstrates the knowledge and skills necessary to provide equitable care appropriate to the age of the patients served on their assigned unit. Demonstrates knowledge and related competencies of the principles of growth and development of the life span and possesses the ability to assess data reflective of the patient's status and interprets the appropriate information needed to identify each patient's requirements relative to their age, specific needs and to provide the equitable care needed as described in departmental policies and procedures. Neonates (0-4 weeks)

Employment Qualifications

Education Required: Master's Degree in Nursing from an accredited program specific to area of practice. Master's Degree in Physician Assistant from an accredited program. Applicants with current advanced practice licensure (without Master's degree) may be within one semester of obtaining a Master's Degree or higher.

Licensing/Certification

Licensure Required: Current RN licensure in Virginia or eligible. License to practice as NP or PA in the specialty area in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Prescriptive Authority when required.

Certification Required: NNP-BC or PA-C Certification

Working Conditions: Periods of high stress and fluctuating workloads may occur. May be exposed to limited hazardous substances or body fluids. May be exposed to human blood and other potentially infectious materials. May have periods of constant interruptions.

Physical Requirements

Physical Demands: Lifting/Carrying (0-50 lbs.), Lifting/Carrying (50-100 lbs.), Push/Pull (0-50 lbs.), Push/Pull (50-100 lbs.), Stoop, Kneel, Squat, Balance, Bending

Work Position: Sitting, Walking, Standing

Additional Physical Requirements/Hazards

Physical Requirements: Manual dexterity (eye/hand coordination), Perform shift work, Maneuver weight of patients, Hear alarms/telephone/tape recorder, Reach above shoulder, Repetitive arm/hand movements, Finger Dexterity, Color Vision, Acuity far, Acuity near

Hazards: Depth perception, Use of Latex Gloves, Exposure to toxic/caustic/chemicals/detergents, Exposure to moving mechanical parts, Exposure to dust/fumes, Exposure to potential electrical shock, Exposure to x ray/electromagnetic energy, Exposure to high pitched noises, Gaseous risk exposure

Mental/Sensory Emotional

Mental/Sensory: Strong Recall, Reasoning, Problem Solving, Hearing, Speak Clearly, Write Legibly, Reading, Logical Thinking

Emotional: Fast pace environment, Steady Pace, Able to Handle Multiple Priorities, Frequent and Intense Customer Interactions, Noisy Environment, Able to Adapt to Frequent Change