Pediatric Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant - Heart Center Fellowship

At Duke Health, we're driven by a commitment to compassionate care that changes the lives of patients, their loved ones, and the greater community. No matter where your talents lie, join us and discover how we can advance health together.

About Duke University Hospital

Pursue your passion for caring with Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which is consistently ranked among the best in the United States. The largest of Duke Health's four hospitals with 1062 patient beds, it features comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, including a regional emergency/trauma center, an endo-surgery center, and more.

FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY WILL START in FEBRUARY/MARCH 2026, Must graduate as PNP-AC by DECEMBER 2025

Job Location - Duke University Hospital

Job Summary

The Duke Pediatric Heart Center Advanced Practice Provider (NP or PA-C) Fellowship rotates through clinical settings in the pediatric heart center which includes inpatient and outpatient locations. There will be heavy emphasis in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICU), PICU, and pediatric cardiac stepdown. The APP Heart Center fellow will work alongside APPs and MDs to provide direct patient care services for newborn congenital heart, surgical, and medically ill pediatric heart center patients from birth to young adults at Duke University Hospital or in the clinics in collaboration with APPs, cardiologists, and surgical physicians.

The APP Fellow performs physical exams, collects and documents data, conducts diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, orders and schedules laboratory studies and professional consultations, prescribes appropriate interventions and medications, coordinates the care and discharge of patients, and provides direct patient care services. The APP Fellow contributes to excellence in patient care, research, teaching, and learns to provide leadership in the organization.

• Acquire a deep and broad knowledge base of the common congenital heart anomalies and disease
• Processes for which patients are hospitalized, understanding the pathophysiology, various presenting clinical presentations and disease prognosis
• Develop a diverse differential diagnosis and respective diagnostic and treatment plan based upon the patient's presenting symptoms along with evidence-based and cost-effective medical care
• Manage patients effectively throughout the whole hospital stay, including admission, daily rounds and continuing evaluation, and dismissal, while remaining cognizant of the patient's or families emotional, physical and spiritual needs
• Learn practice management, including strategies in training APPs and APP students
• Develop keen verbal skills to effectively communicate with colleagues, physicians, patients and ancillary staff to ultimately become a key part of the inpatient health care delivery team

• In collaboration with cardiology attendings, PCICU attendings, surgeon(s) and/or APPs, round daily on patients to assess, diagnose, plan treatment, set priorities and realistic outcomes, and evaluate the effectiveness and cost efficiency of patient care.
• Provide and coordinate clinical care for service specific patients through established protocols and under the hospitalist supervising physician or back up physician who is either on site or available by pager.
• Collaborate with the residents, fellows, attending other NP/PA colleague's nurses, and patient resource managers to formulate treatment plans and monitor patient progress.
• Perform procedures specific to the work environment after demonstrated competency and within the guidelines of scope of practice and credentialing protocols.
• Assess patients for change in status and institute appropriate interventions. Initiate emergency interventions to stabilize the patient until physician support arrives.
• Postoperative stabilization and management.
• Develop patient care pathways, protocols and guidelines for the management of specific problems in conjunction with physicians and other members of the health care team.
• Analyze clinical practice patterns so as to provide the best medical care and to increase effectiveness and efficiency.
• Communicate verbally and in writing all pertinent patient information to supervising MD, nursing staff, patient resource manager, home health agency, and other relevant healthcare providers.
• Document in the patients' medical record all relevant data including but not limited to results of diagnostic tests; laboratory results; patients' condition and response to therapies/interventions; communications with supervising MD.
• Utilize prescriptive privileges only for identified patient population.
• Prescriptive authority for prescribing, ordering, and or administering drugs; including (but not limited to) schedule II, III, IV, and V drugs and necessary medical devices.
• Role model competence in all nurse practitioner / physician assistant advanced skills.
• Give daily handoff to appropriate APP,…