Position Overview

Piedmont Healthcare is seeking an experienced Advanced Practice Provider (Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner) to join our Neurosurgery team with a primary focus on adult spinal deformity and complex spine surgery.

This is an opportunity to work alongside fellowship-trained spinal deformity specialist supporting a comprehensive spinal deformity program focused on clinical excellence, multidisciplinary care, exceptional outcomes, and an outstanding patient experience.

The APP will function as an integral member of the surgical team across the continuum of care, including preoperative evaluation, first assist in the operating room, inpatient management, hospital rounding, discharge coordination, and postoperative clinic care.

Key Responsibilities

Operating Room & Procedural Care

• OR support for adult spinal deformity, complex reconstruction, revision, and other neurosurgical spine procedures.
• Assist with operative preparation, positioning, exposure, closure, and other responsibilities within APP scope and credentialing.
• Participate in the care of patients undergoing complex procedures such as multilevel reconstruction, osteotomy, and revision surgery.
• Support standardized perioperative and enhanced recovery pathways.

Inpatient Management

• Perform daily hospital rounds and coordinate care with attending neurosurgeons.
• Evaluate new inpatient and emergency department consultations.
• Complete histories and physical examinations, orders, progress notes, discharge summaries, and other required documentation.
• Monitor postoperative recovery and promptly recognize potential neurological, surgical, and medical complications.
• Coordinate appropriate escalation to the attending surgeon when changes in neurological status or other significant clinical concerns arise.
• Facilitate timely discharge and transitions of care.
• Collaborate closely with hospital medicine, nursing, physical and occupational therapy, rehabilitation, case management, pharmacy, and other disciplines.

Ambulatory & Preoperative Care

• Conduct comprehensive histories and physical examinations and document findings in the medical record.
• Evaluate new and established spine patients in collaboration with supervising physicians.
• Perform preoperative evaluations and ensure required laboratory testing, imaging, specialty clearances, and medical optimization are completed before surgery.
• Provide postoperative and longitudinal follow-up care.
• Review imaging, laboratory findings, wound status, neurological recovery, pain management, and functional progress.
• Educate patients and families regarding surgical preparation, postoperative expectations, rehabilitation, activity restrictions, and warning signs requiring immediate evaluation.

Complex Spine Program Responsibilities

• Participate in multidisciplinary case planning for complex spinal deformity patients.
• Help implement standardized clinical pathways and evidence-based protocols.
• Support collection of clinical outcomes and patient-reported outcome measures.
• Participate in quality-improvement initiatives focused on surgical outcomes, complications, length of stay, readmissions, patient experience, and discharge efficiency.
• Maintain high-quality clinical documentation supporting accurate representation of patient acuity and procedural complexity.

Call Responsibilities

• Participate in the established Neurosurgery APP call rotation.
• Provide first-call coverage for appropriate inpatient neurosurgical issues within scope and established escalation protocols.
• Rotation includes nights and weekends

Qualifications

Required

• Graduate of an accredited Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner program.
• Current or eligible Georgia APRN or PA licensure.
• Appropriate national board certification.
• Current BLS certification.
• Ability to obtain hospital privileges and meet Piedmont credentialing requirements.
• Strong clinical judgment, communication skills, attention to detail, and ability to function in a high-acuity surgical environment.

Preferred

• 1–2+ years of neurosurgery, orthopedic spine, or other complex surgical experience.
• Previous experience serving as First Assist in the OR.
• Experience managing postoperative spine or neurosurgical patients.
• Familiarity with complex spine procedures and perioperative pathways.
• Experience working within a multidisciplinary surgical program.
• Demonstrated ability to recognize and respond appropriately to postoperative complications.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a clinically strong, highly collaborative APP who enjoys caring for medically and surgically complex patients and wants to become a core member of a growing spinal deformity program.

We are particularly interested in candidates who are comfortable working across the OR, inpatient unit, and outpatient clinic, have excellent clinical judgment, and want to develop advanced expertise in complex spine and adult spinal deformity care.