Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner (Interventional Pain & Spine)

Job Purpose:

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Evaluates and manages patients with spine, musculoskeletal, and chronic pain conditions in accordance with established clinical protocols and supervising physician guidance.
• Performs established patient follow-up visits, including post-procedure evaluations following epidural steroid injections, medial branch blocks (MBB), radiofrequency ablation (RFA), SI joint injections, and other interventional pain procedures.
• Assists with repeat injection planning, RFA pathway management, and coordination of appropriate next steps in care based on clinical response and physician-directed treatment plans.
• Reviews MRI studies, imaging reports, diagnostic testing, and clinical findings with patients to support treatment planning and patient understanding.
• Manages stable medication follow-up visits with minimal opioid management responsibilities.
• Obtains comprehensive patient histories and performs focused physical examinations to assess functional limitations, pain patterns, treatment response, and progression of symptoms.
• Documents conservative treatment measures, prior procedural response, medical necessity, functional impairment, and other payer-required elements to support insurance authorization and treatment approval processes.
• Educates patients regarding diagnoses, treatment options, expectations, procedural pathways, and functional recovery goals.
• Collaborates closely with the physician, clinic team, scheduling staff, and authorization team to support efficient patient flow and continuity of care.
• Helps improve patient access through efficient management of recheck visits and support of new patient evaluations as practice growth evolves.
• Identifies patient conditions requiring escalation, physician consultation, referral, or additional specialty evaluation.
• Orders and interprets diagnostic studies, laboratory testing, imaging, and other related evaluations as appropriate within scope of practice.
• Orders, prescribes, dispenses, and administers medications, orthotics, braces, and other treatment modalities according to standard protocols and applicable regulations.
• Maintains timely, accurate, and thorough patient documentation within the electronic medical record.
• Adheres to all HIPAA, PHI, compliance, and patient confidentiality standards.
• Participates in quality improvement initiatives and maintains knowledge of current trends and developments in spine, musculoskeletal medicine, and interventional pain management.
• Supports the continued growth and future expansion of the interventional pain and spine practice, including potential growth in clinic days and additional service locations.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Ideal Candidate:

The ideal candidate is clinically curious, compassionate, efficient, and comfortable caring for patients with chronic spine and musculoskeletal pain conditions. This role is well-suited for an APP interested in interventional and nonoperative spine care within a collaborative orthopedic environment. Candidates should possess:

• Strong interest in spine, pain management, and interventional treatment pathways.
• Excellent communication skills and patient-centered bedside manner.
• Ability to manage a structured outpatient clinic schedule efficiently.
• Strong clinical documentation habits and attention to detail.
• Comfort reviewing imaging findings and treatment plans with patients.
• Willingness to learn payer documentation and authorization requirements.
• Sound clinical judgment regarding independent management versus physician escalation.
• Team-oriented, coachable, and growth-minded approach to patient care.
• Interest in contributing to the development of a high-quality physician-led pain and spine practice.

Prior experience in orthopedics, spine, PM&R, neurosurgery, sports medicine, or pain management is preferred; however, motivated candidates with strong clinical aptitude and willingness to learn are encouraged to apply.

Competencies:

• Service: We align our actions and decision making with the organization’s guiding platform keeping our patients at the center of all we do.

• Change Agent: We support and contribute to positive change in the organization.

• Communication and Interpersonal Relations: We communicate honestly and with compassion to build connections with our patients and each other.

• Effectiveness: We take ownership of work, doing the right thing for our customer and doing it well.

Organizational Culture:

All OrthoIllinois employees focus on service by putting the mission, vision, and value statements into practice and using the guiding principles of Compassion, Respect, Trust, Integrity, Innovation, Education Fiscal Responsibility, Practice Independence, Accountability, and Empowerment to direct their interactions and decision making. Employees promote and model the service standards to create lasting impressions, extraordinary moments, exceptional on-stage experiences, and meaningful and compassionate connections.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Graduate of an accredited Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner program.
• Current Illinois Physician Assistant or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse licensure.
• Current DEA registration and Illinois Controlled Substance license.
• Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
• Prior experience in orthopedics, spine, PM&R, pain management, neurosurgery, or related musculoskeletal specialty preferred.

Environmental/Working Conditions:

Work is performed primarily in an outpatient orthopedic clinic and medical office setting

Physical/Mental Demands:

• Stand for long periods of time, walk for periods of time, and climb stairs

• Requires lifting, carrying, or moving heavier objects (i.e. pushing or pulling up to 100 pounds and lifting and carrying up to 50 pounds

• Possess full range of motion in shoulders and arms, including reaching above or below the shoulder in order to operate power tools and medical equipment when needed

• Finger dexterity, the ability to twist hands/wrists repetitively, pushing/pulling against stiff joints, using a variety of holds; demonstrating exercises, lifting/raising over shoulder height

• Vision: Posses close, distant, peripheral and color vision and ability to adjust focus

• Hearing: ability to detect high pitch, soft or distant sounds

This description is intended to provide only basic guidelines for meeting job requirements. Responsibilities, knowledge, skills, abilities and working conditions may change as needs evolve