Physician Assistant (PA)

Position Summary:

The Physician Assistant provides quality medical care to the patients of Southside. He/She reports directly to the Supervising Physician.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• The supervising physician will provide appropriate supervision and will be ultimately responsible for all duties delegated to the physician’s assistant.
• The physician and physician’s assistant are expected to understand and comply with all current laws, rules, and regulations that govern the practice of physician’s assistants in the State of Georgia and will be acknowledging this by affixing their signatures on the physician assistant practice application.
• A physician’s assistant may gather a database on all new patients or established patients with new problems to include a complete medical history and physical examination, medical record review, appropriate initial diagnostic studies, and will be responsible for transmitting that information to the supervising physician(s) for review.
• A physician’s assistant may order/select a dangerous drug or controlled substance or order medical treatments or diagnostic studies in any health care setting in accordance with Rule 360-5-.07(8).
• The physician’s assistant may perform those routine medical treatments and diagnostic procedures for which he/she is qualified by training and which fall within the normal scope of practice of the supervising physician as delegated by the supervising physician.
• A physician’s assistant may instruct and counsel patients and their families with regard to their illness or injury, therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, treatment regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance. He/she may also facilitate the referral of patients to other medical providers, medical facilities, or other health/social agencies when appropriate as per the delegation of the supervising physician.
• If a life-threatening emergency situation arises when the supervising physician is not present, the physician’s assistant may initiate appropriate evaluation and treatment.
• A task delegated to the physician may delegate additional duties to the physician’s assistant to be performed in the supervising physician’s presence will not be considered an additional duty.
• The supervising physician may delegate additional duties to the physician’s assistant to be performed in the absence of the supervising physician only after these specific duties have been formally approved by the Board. These additional duties have been formally approved by the Board. These additional duties are acts or procedures which are generally recognized as being beyond the usual scope of a physician’s assistant training or experience, and which have an inherently increased risk of morbidity or mortality. In conjunction with the RN evaluates patient complaints and works towards resolution.
• The physician’s assistant shall at all times properly identify himself as a Physician’s Assistant and shall at all times wear a clearly legible identification name tag with the words “PHYSICIAN’S ASSISTANT.”

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Has training in all phases of nursing.
• Has excellent personal manner in meeting and caring for patients.
• Has the ability to work with doctors and nurses.
• Has the ability to follow instructions and make reports.
• Has the ability to counsel patients, parents, and friends of patients.
• Has the ability to interpret laboratory data and spot problem areas.
• Has the ability to direct and supervise staff

Minimum Qualifications:

Must have a license; three (3) years of experience preferred. A registered nurse who has satisfactorily completed a formal family nurse practitioner educational program. Two (2) years of supervisory experience desired. Current nurse’s registration by Georgia Board of Nursing.

Physical Requirements & Working Conditions:

Requires full range of body motion including handling and lifting patients, manual and finger dexterity, and eye-hand coordination. Requires standing and walking for prolonged periods. Occasionally lifts and carries items weighing up to 100 pounds. Requires corrected vision and hearing to normal range. Requires working under stressful conditions and/or working irregular hours. Requires exposure to communicable diseases or bodily fluids.

Frequent exposure to communicable diseases, toxic substances, ionizing radiation, medicinal preparations, and others common to the clinic environment.