Anesthesia OR PA

The Physician Assistant in the Department of Anesthesia will perform pre‑operative and post anesthesia assessment for patients scheduled for surgery in the OR at UI Health Care Medical Center University and will assist in the education of resident physicians, medical students, and nurse anesthetist students as they rotate through the OR. The Physician Assistant will assist in research endeavors related to pre‑op/pre‑anesthesia assessments. They will work within an interdisciplinary team, CRNA’s, nursing, physicians, administration and others involved with the patient’s care. They will ensure safe, effective, quality patient care and promote UI Health Care’s educational and research missions. The Physician Assistant will exercise autonomy in medical decision‑making and services provided.

Position Responsibilities

• Reviews patient records including prior anesthetics, surgical and nursing work‑up, consultant work‑up, and other relevant clinical notes and testing procedures.
• Evaluates patients according to the standard anesthetic evaluation, understanding that this standard may evolve over time, including obtaining the patient’s medical history, airway exam, examination of heart and lungs, and other clinically indicated organ systems.
• Provides postoperative management in the PACU, including assessment and treatment of pain, nausea, hemodynamic concerns, and other common postoperative conditions under established protocols and physician collaboration.
• Assists with multimodal pain management strategies, including medication titration, regional anesthesia follow‑up, and escalation of complex pain concerns to anesthesia faculty as appropriate.
• Participates in the development and implementation of standardized perioperative care pathways, quality improvement initiatives, and patient safety efforts.
• Performs further evaluation as directed by the staff physician.
• Assists patients in understanding teaching materials provided for their anesthetic.
• Assists patients in interpretation of NPO instructions.
• Instructs patients regarding medications to be taken on the day of surgery, including how to manage insulin doses.
• Writes orders for pre‑medication in consultation with the staff physician or clinic supervisor.
• Orders diagnostic tests for the patient in consultation with the staff physician.
• Directs requisitions for relevant outside medical records, which may include telephone calls to outside physicians, their offices or hospitals.
• Communicates with other services within or outside the hospital to request further consultation or work‑up in cooperation with the staff physician.
• Arranges for communication of special needs or concerns to the anesthesia team.
• Assists in collecting information such as duration of work‑up, health status of patient, etc., for use in optimizing the function of the OR.
• Makes observations regarding issues that dissatisfy patients or lead to inefficiency.
• Assists in teaching duties of the position to substitutes and/or replacements. Also teaches pre‑operative/anesthesia evaluation by example and direct instruction to junior residents or SRNA students.
• Establishes and maintains standards of collaborative interaction among peers and employees characterized by respect, honesty and service; assures that all unit members are held to similar standards and ethics.
• Inspires and motivates others to high performance by exercising strong stewardship of university resources, setting expectations, measuring success through individual performance evaluations, and driving organizational results.
• Identifies opportunities for and creates development plans that encourage employees to attend to the growth of their personal and professional capacity; engages self and staff in collective reflection of the university’s greater role in society.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education Requirements

• Graduation from an accredited Physician Assistant educational program.

Experience Requirements

• Physician Assistants are required to comply with registration and licensure requirements as specified by the Iowa Board of Physician Assistant Examiners and hold current certification by the NCCPA.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Contributes to a welcoming and respectful workplace environment.
• Ability to prioritize workflow.

Desired Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in area of clinical practice is preferred.
• Ability to function with a high degree of independence in a collaborative and multidisciplinary team providing care for highly complex patients.

Compensation

• Pay Level: 11
• Starting Salary Minimum: $87,632