PA Physician Assistant Orthopedics Naval Medical Center Portsmouth

PA Physician Assistant for the Orthopedics Department at Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, VA

The outpatient clinic is committed to providing comprehensive orthopedic care to the Active Duty and Retired Service members and their families living in the Tidewater Area. The sub-specialty focus is Orthopedic Hand.

Specific duties

Provide a full range of Musculoskeletal care, including

• Examination, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the Musculoskeletal system such as contusions, strains, sprains, sports medicine-related injuries, back and neck pain, chronic and acute neuromuscular disease, and demyelinating disease.
• Management of nonsurgical musculoskeletal problems, including Rheumatic disease, collagen diseases, and foot disorders.
• Treatment of peripheral nervous system and myoneural junction disorders (e.g., radiculopathies and myasthenia gravis).
• Generalized conditioning and injury rehabilitation.
• Evaluation and management of chronic pain conditions.
• Functional capacity testing, evaluation, and assessment.

Perform a variety of orthopedic pre-, intra-, and post-operative duties

• Pre-admission patient evaluation and work-up, physical assessment.
• Assistance in setting orthopedic instrumentation and equipment, patient preparation including draping and positioning.
• First and second assistance in all procedures, including tissue retraction, suturing of tissues, cutting of suture, closing of the operative case.
• Application of appropriate appliances; removal of sutures, case and splint changes, dressing changes with routine wound care as necessary.

Manage patient care processes

• Institute admission, in-house transfer, and discharge orders (to be reviewed by the supervising physician).
• Chart progress, dictate notes, and prepare discharge summaries as necessary.

Additional responsibilities

• Carry the departmental duty pager during regular working hours on a rotating basis as directed by the government supervisor. This duty involves answering pages/calls from the ER, clinics, and the fleet, as well as being responsible for the examination, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders involving the musculoskeletal system.