Physician Assistant, RN First Assistant or Certified First Assistant

North Carolina Specialty Hospital; North Carolina; On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

North Carolina Specialty Hospital in Durham, NC seeks a Physician Assistant, RN First Assistant, or Certified First Assistant to provide surgical assistance and perioperative care under physician supervision. The role emphasizes collaboration with anesthesia, patient evaluation, and coordinating preoperative and postoperative care.

Required RN or PA licensure in NC and a graduate master’s degree from an accredited program.

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse or Physician Assistant in NC.
• Graduated NCN or PA accredited master’s degree program.

Responsibilities

• Provide surgical assistance in the operating room.
• Adapt to various surgeons and procedures for optimum perioperative assistance.
• Assess acute/non-acute problems affecting surgery readiness.
• Assist in pre-admission testing and surgical clearance.
• Perform final chart checks prior to planned surgery.
• Collaborate with anesthesiologists on preadmission testing.
• Coordinate preoperative preparation with the healthcare team.
• Conduct postop assessments and guide management with the team.

Skills

Independent work

Decision making

Highly organized

Attention to detail

Accountability

Interpersonal with patients

Collaborative teamwork

Education

Graduated NCN or PA accredited master’s degree program

Job description

Physician Assistant, RN First Assistant or Certified First Assistant

Job Category: Adv Practice Nursing

Requisition Number: PHYSI041581

• Posted : September 14, 2026
• Full-Time

Locations

Showing 1 location

North Carolina Specialty Hospital
3916 Ben Franklin Blvd
Durham, NC 27704, USA

Description

North Carolina Specialty Hospital (NCSH) is a private, physician-owned medical center that opened its doors in 1926. Its commitment to growth and continuous improvement has helped the hospital maintain a high ranking in both quality measures and patient satisfaction. North Carolina Specialty Hospital offers surgical specialties in orthopedics, ophthalmology, ear, nose, and throat, as well as sports medicine, oral, plastic, podiatry, general surgery, interventional radiology, pain management, reconstructive surgery, and more.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF DUTIES:

Physician assistant is a licensed healthcare professional who practices medicine under the direct supervision of a physician. The primary objective of this position is to deliver comprehensive, appropriate, safe, and cost-care for patients across the continuum of age and health, in accordance with established hospital policy and perioperative medicine guidelines. The APP will direct/provide care, in collaboration with anesthesia and hospital medicine, under supervision by a duly licensed physician, as they perform medical evaluation to determine the suitability of the patient for the proposed surgery; provide treatment recommendations and specialty referrals with the goal to mitigate or eliminate risk, where possible, so as to maximally optimize the patient for the proposed surgery.

Skills & Abilities:

• Able to work independently and met established deadlines
• Able to make sound reasonable decisions
• Highly organized
• Ability to concentrate on many detailed requests despite numerous interruptions
• Demonstrates accountability, professionalism, openness, receptive to change, creativity and innovative
• Ability to develop excellent working relationships with patients, families and staff
• Seeks guidance, direction and assistance when needed
• Ability to be flexible and take on new responsibilities

Duties:

• Provide surgical assistance in the operating room.
• Adapt to various surgeons and procedures to provide optimum assistance in the perioperative setting
• Assesses acute and non-acute clinical problems, that may delay surgery or present specific needs while preforming surgical intervention.
• Assist in pre-admission testing for patient evaluation and surgical clearance. Conduct interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary collaboration with physicians regarding patient management.
• Performs final check of all patient charts including lab work, EKG’s, x-rays, consultation reports the day before planned surgery.
• Collaborates with attending anesthesiologists about any preadmission testing assessments or outstanding patient care issues daily.
• Collaborates with other healthcare professional to coordinate optimal preoperative preparation of patients undergoing procedures requiring anesthesia services.
• Conduct postop assessments on all admitted patients, evaluating labs and imaging data to guide medical decision making. The PA will recognize and treat perioperative complications in collaboration with the surgical and anesthesia team.

REQUIREMENTS:

Education/Experience Required:

• Registered Nurse or Physician Assistant
• Graduated NCN or PA accredited master’s degree program

Registration/Certification:

• Registered Nurse or Physician Assistant in the state of NC
• Graduated NCN or PA accredited master’s degree program
• Certified ACNP, CANP, or PA-C
• Certified in ACLS

Equal Opportunity Employer
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