Physician Assistant / Nurse Practitioner – Outpatient Neurosurgery & Spine Clinic

Full Job Description

Physician Assistant / Nurse Practitioner – Outpatient Neurosurgery

Inland Neurosurgery InstituteSouthern California / Inland Empire

Inland Neurosurgery Institute is seeking a highly motivated Physician Assistant (PA-C) or Nurse Practitioner (NP) to join our neurosurgical practice in a primarily outpatient clinic-based position.

Our practice provides comprehensive adult neurosurgical care, including cranial surgery, spine surgery, cerebrovascular and neurointerventional care, brain and spinal tumors, trauma, and complex neurologic conditions.

This position is designed primarily as a Monday–Friday outpatient clinic role, with no mandatory overnight call, weekend call, or operating room coverage. However, candidates who are interested in expanding their clinical responsibilities may earn additional compensation through voluntary hospital call coverage and participation in operative cases.

Position Summary

The PA/NP will work closely with the neurosurgeons in the evaluation and management of patients with cranial, spinal, vascular, and other neurosurgical conditions.

The ideal candidate must be comfortable evaluating and managing patients in clinic with minimal direct supervision and should be able to independently perform histories, neurologic examinations, review diagnostic studies, formulate assessments, and develop preliminary treatment plans within their scope of practice.

Physician support will remain available for complex cases, surgical decision-making, and situations requiring escalation. Patients who are likely to require surgical intervention will be evaluated in conjunction with the treating neurosurgeon.

The goal of the position is to develop an APP who can independently manage a significant portion of the outpatient neurosurgical workflow while maintaining appropriate physician collaboration.

Primary Responsibilities

Responsibilities include:

• Independently evaluate new and established neurosurgical patients in the outpatient clinic.
• Perform comprehensive histories and detailed neurologic examinations.
• Conduct postoperative follow-up visits.
• Review MRI, CT, X-ray, and other diagnostic studies.
• Develop assessments and preliminary treatment plans with minimal supervision.
• Recognize patients who require physician evaluation, urgent escalation, or surgical consideration.
• Manage conservative treatment for common spinal and neurologic conditions.
• Order and review appropriate diagnostic imaging and laboratory studies.
• Coordinate referrals to physical therapy, pain management, neurology, radiation oncology, oncology, and other specialties when appropriate.
• Provide preoperative counseling and patient education.
• Perform postoperative wound and recovery assessments.
• Assist with medication management within the APP’s scope of practice.
• Educate patients and families regarding surgical and nonsurgical treatment options.
• Coordinate surgical evaluations and follow-up care.
• Maintain accurate, complete, and timely clinical documentation.
• Assist with prior authorizations, imaging approvals, surgical coordination, and continuity of care when clinically necessary.
• Communicate with referring physicians and other healthcare professionals regarding patient management.

Clinic Schedule

The primary position is approximately:

40 hours per week

Typical schedule:

Monday–FridayApproximately 8:00 AM–5:00 PM

The position is primarily outpatient and does not require routine overnight call, weekend call, inpatient rounding, or operating room coverage as part of the base salary.

Optional Hospital Call Coverage

PA/NPs who are interested in additional compensation may elect to participate in hospital call coverage.

Call responsibilities may include:

• Hospital neurosurgical consultations.
• Emergency department consultations.
• Initial evaluation of neurosurgical patients.
• Inpatient rounding.
• Postoperative patient management.
• Coordination with the on-call neurosurgeon.
• Evaluation of urgent cranial and spinal conditions.
• Participation in hospital-based neurosurgical care.

Call participation is voluntary and compensated separately from the base salary through an additional call stipend.

Call opportunities may include weekday evening coverage, overnight coverage, weekend coverage, or other mutually agreed-upon hospital coverage.

Optional Operating Room Participation

PA/NPs interested in operative neurosurgery may also have the opportunity to participate in surgical cases.

Potential operative responsibilities may include:

• First or second assisting during neurosurgical procedures.
• Patient positioning and preparation.
• Surgical exposure and retraction.
• Assistance with wound opening and closure.
• Postoperative orders and coordination of postoperative care.
• Patient and family communication following surgery.
• Other responsibilities appropriate to training, credentialing, and scope of practice.

Operative participation is not required for the outpatient clinic position.

APPs who participate in qualifying operative cases will receive additional compensation for OR case support separate from their base salary.

OR compensation may be structured as a per-case payment or as a portion of the reimbursement received for qualifying assistant-surgeon services.

Compensation

Base Salary: $99,000–$150,000 per year, depending on experience, qualifications, prior specialty exposure, and demonstrated ability to function independently in the outpatient clinic.

The base salary is intended to compensate the APP for the outpatient clinic position and approximately 40 hours of scheduled work per week.

Prior clinical experience will be given significant weight in determining starting compensation.

Candidates with previous experience in neurosurgery, spine surgery, neurology, orthopedic surgery, trauma, emergency medicine, or another surgical specialty may qualify for compensation toward the upper end of the salary range.

Additional earning opportunities are available through:

• Hospital call stipends
• Operating room case compensation
• Potential productivity or performance incentives

An APP who chooses to participate actively in call and operative coverage therefore has the opportunity to earn substantially more than the stated base salary.

Benefits

Benefits may include:

• Competitive base salary.
• Additional call compensation.
• Additional OR case compensation.
• Medical insurance.
• Dental and vision benefits.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer contribution or matching.
• Paid time off.
• Paid holidays.
• CME allowance.
• CME time.
• Professional licensing reimbursement.
• DEA reimbursement when applicable.
• Professional society dues when applicable.
• Malpractice insurance.
• Potential productivity incentives.

Required Qualifications

Applicants should possess:

• Current California Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner license, or eligibility for California licensure.
• PA-C certification or appropriate NP board certification.
• Current DEA registration or eligibility when applicable.
• Ability to independently evaluate and manage patients in the outpatient setting with minimal direct supervision.
• Strong clinical judgment and ability to recognize when physician escalation is appropriate.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong organizational and documentation skills.
• Ability to work efficiently in a busy specialty clinic.
• Interest in neurosurgery, spine, neuroscience, or surgical patient care.

Preferred Experience

Previous clinical experience is strongly preferred and will be given greater weight during the selection process.

Experience in any of the following areas is particularly desirable:

• Neurosurgery.
• Orthopedic spine surgery.
• Neurology.
• Trauma surgery.
• General surgery or another surgical specialty.
• Neurocritical care.
• Emergency medicine.
• Pain management.
• Inpatient surgical care.

Candidates with prior neurosurgical or spine experience and demonstrated ability to independently manage clinic patients will receive strong consideration.

Highly motivated new graduates may be considered; however, preference will generally be given to applicants with prior clinical experience and demonstrated independence.

Practice Environment

Inland Neurosurgery Institute provides comprehensive neurosurgical care across the spectrum of adult neurosurgery.

The APP will have exposure to patients with:

• Cervical and lumbar degenerative spine disease.
• Herniated discs and spinal stenosis.
• Spinal fractures.
• Brain and spinal tumors.
• Intracranial hemorrhage.
• Subdural hematomas.
• Hydrocephalus.
• Cerebral aneurysms.
• Cerebrovascular disease.
• Stroke-related neurosurgical conditions.
• Other complex cranial and spinal disorders.

The position provides an opportunity to develop significant expertise in neurosurgery while maintaining the predictable lifestyle of a primarily outpatient position.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a clinically confident PA or NP who is comfortable seeing patients independently, making appropriate initial clinical decisions, reviewing imaging, and identifying when physician involvement is required.

The strongest candidates will have previous specialty or surgical experience and will be able to function efficiently with limited day-to-day supervision.

An APP may choose to maintain a predominantly outpatient schedule or gradually expand into hospital coverage and operative neurosurgery based on experience and interest.

The compensation structure is specifically designed so that additional responsibility results in additional compensation rather than being incorporated into an uncompensated salaried workload.

Job Type: Full-TimeSchedule: Approximately 40 hours per week, primarily Monday–FridayPrimary Setting: Outpatient Neurosurgery ClinicCall: Optional; compensated separatelyOperating Room: Optional; compensated separatelyBase Compensation: $99,000–$150,000 annually, depending on experience

Pay: $99,000.00 – $150,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person

Apply on Inland Neurosurgery Institute's Website