Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant-Palliative Care Inpatient Pediatric Quality of Life (PQOL)

As a part of Duke Health's outpatient clinic network, you will enjoy competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits plans, convenient work hours, and many opportunities for career advancement. Become a part of a team that values and invests in you.

Duke Advanced Practice Highlights:

• The nation's first Physician Assistant Program was created at Duke in 1965 and is consistently ranked No. 1 in the country.
• The Duke School of Nursing is consistently ranked as one of the top nursing schools and their MSN and DNP programs offers eight advanced practice registered nurse majors and specialty certifications, as well as post master's certificates and certification alignment programs.
• Commitment to ongoing learning for APPs through annual CME funding and access to high-quality Duke CME offerings including APP Grand Rounds and a professional advancement program. APPs are leaders in multiple arenas within Duke.
• Duke offers APPs opportunities to practice within team based integrative care in a tremendous variety of specialties. APPs are expected to work to top of scope in order to contribute to Duke's missions which include clinical practice, education, and research.
• Practice locations can include Duke Health's three hospitals or over 140 primary care and specialty care clinics throughout North Carolina.

Job Location:

Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC

Job Summary:
The Pediatric Quality of Life (PQoL) Advanced Practice Provider (APP) is a Nurse Practitioner who provides direct patient care services to hospitalized children with serious illness under the supervision of a palliative care physician. The APP delivers high-quality, family-centered palliative care focused on symptom management, medical decision-making, and psychosocial support.

Embedded within the inpatient PQoL consult service, the APP manages a high-volume, high-complexity patient population requiring longitudinal care, frequent follow-up, and interdisciplinary coordination. This role emphasizes communication with families, alignment of care with patient and family goals, and collaboration across pediatric subspecialties.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Clinical Care:

Essential functions:

• Perform comprehensive history and physical examinations for pediatric patients
• Diagnose, plan, and implement treatment for symptom management and serious illness care
• Assess for changes in clinical status and initiate appropriate interventions
• Provide longitudinal follow-up care for hospitalized patients with complex needs
• Initiate emergency interventions as appropriate until physician support is available
• Document all clinical encounters, assessments, and interventions in the EMR

Competencies/skills:

• Advanced pediatric clinical assessment and decision-making
• Knowledge of pediatric serious illness and symptom management
• Ability to manage medically complex and high-acuity patients

Care Coordination:

Essential functions:

• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams including physicians, nurses, social work, and subspecialty services
• Coordinate care across inpatient teams including ICU, oncology, neurology, and transplant services
• Facilitate communication between primary teams, consultants, and families
• Ensure timely implementation of care plans and follow-up
• Support transitions of care across inpatient and outpatient settings

Competencies/skills:

• Strong interdisciplinary collaboration and communication
• Ability to manage complex care coordination across multiple services
• Organizational and workflow management skills

Family-Centered Communication and Advance Care Planning:

Essential functions:

• Lead and participate in goals-of-care discussions with patients (as appropriate) and families
• Facilitate shared decision-making aligned with family values and preferences
• Provide emotional support to patients and families during serious illness
• Assist with advance care planning and documentation when appropriate
• Navigate complex family dynamics and culturally sensitive situations

Competencies/skills:

• Expertise in pediatric serious illness communication
• High emotional intelligence and empathy
• Ability to support families through complex decision-making processes

Quality Service and Outcomes Management:

Essential functions:

• Participate in development and implementation of clinical pathways and care protocols
• Analyze clinical practice patterns to improve care delivery and efficiency
• Contribute to quality improvement initiatives within the PQoL program
• Support data collection related to clinical activity and outcomes

Competencies/skills:

• Quality improvement and process optimization skills
• Ability to interpret clinical data and apply to practice improvement

Education and Program Development:

Essential functions:

• Educate patients, families, and staff on palliative care principles
• Provide guidance to trainees and interdisciplinary team members
• Participate in development of educational materials and program initiatives

Competencies/skills:

• Teaching and mentoring skills
• Strong verbal and written communication

Customer Service:

Essential functions:

• Serve as a consistent and compassionate point of contact for patients and families
• Promote a patient- and family-centered care experience
• Maintain professionalism and responsiveness in all interactions

Competencies/skills:

• Strong customer service orientation
• Ability to build trust with patients, families, and care teams

Job Eligibility Requirements

Education

• Nurse Practitioners: Work requires completion of an accredited Nurse Practitioner program, with a Master's degree in Nursing.
• Physician Assistants: Work requires completion of an accredited Physician Assistant program. A Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree strongly preferred.

Certification

• BLS required

License

• Nurse Practitioners: Must have current or compact RN licensure & NP approval to practice in the state of North Carolina. BLS required. National certification as a NP required.
• Physician Assistants: Must be licensed in the state of NC, and be certified as a Physician Assistant by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. BLS required.
• DEA licensure with full prescriptive authority required.

Experience

• 1+ years of APP experience preferred

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation, or military status.

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Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.