Physician Assistant, Thoracic Surgery

Physician Assistant The Physician Assistant provides comprehensive operative care to patients in the Section of Thoracic Surgery. Responsibilities include: Assisting the physician/surgeon through organized instruction and supervised practice. Managing operating room, inpatient, and outpatient thoracic surgery. Taking patient histories, conducting examinations, diagnosing illnesses, ordering and interpreting laboratory tests, performing specified diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, developing and implementing comprehensive care plans, outpatient communication with patients, and assisting in the operating room. Assisting in the team effort to expedite the start of surgery in the operating room. First and second assistant in the operating room. Bedside robotic assistant. Providing appropriate preparation of the patient for surgery. Performing patient follow-up in the outpatient setting with communication to community healthcare providers assuring appropriate transitions of care and follow-up. Working with nurse to address patient inquiries via email, EPIC, or phone. Participating in inpatient management of thoracic surgery patient alongside surgery residents, including floor rounds, consults, charting, orders, communication with consulting teams and patient discharge. Coordinating patient and family education needs with staff, case managers and the Clinical Program Manager. Participating and coordinating in-patient care conferences. Maintaining established departmental policies and procedures, objectives, quality assurance program, safety, environmental, and infection control standards. Meeting daily with the attending physician to discuss individual patient needs. Functioning as a professional role model for colleagues, nursing and house staff while providing expert care. Promoting, having knowledge of, and utilizing appropriate patient care protocol relating to the physical and psychological needs of adult patients in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. Participating in self and peer evaluation to improve the quality of care. Participating in the development, review and evaluation of procedures. Participating in clinical trials and researching protocol development in surgery. Assisting in identifying patients and obtaining informed consent for participation in clinical research trials. Assisting in the creation and maintenance of educational tools for patients and families. Assisting in quality and improvement efforts through established hospital committees. Keeping knowledge base current by reading professional literature and attending educational conferences. Participating in training of medical students, surgical house staff, and PA students. Evaluating goals and outcomes taking into account the benefit-versus-burden, safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness for the patient, family and the organization. Developing diagnostic strategies and therapeutic interventions needed to achieve the goals and outcomes of the patient's plan of care. Performing other related work as needed. Minimum qualifications include a college or university degree from an accredited school/college and knowledge and skills developed through a combination of education and a minimum of 2 years of relevant work experience in a related job discipline. Current and/or eligible for State of Illinois licensure/registration is required. Eligibility to be privileged and credentialed through the Medical Staff Office (MSO) is also required. Preferred qualifications include completion of an accredited physician assistant educational program accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA), clinical experience in a related area of specialty, current physician assistant license/registration in the State of Illinois or eligibility to receive by start date, and certification from the National Commission for the Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) by start date. Preferred competencies include providing direct patient care in a professional and respectful manner, providing direct patient care independently under the direction of the supervising physician, excellent verbal and written communication, performing detailed work, performing multiple concurrent tasks with occasional interruptions, exercising discretion and confidentiality while handling sensitive situations, and training or leading others.

Created: 2026-03-04