Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Summary:

Essential Functions:

The Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner is responsible for providing comprehensive, patient‑centered palliative care to individuals with serious, chronic, or life‑limiting illnesses in collaboration with primary and specialty providers and the interdisciplinary team. The NP emphasizes symptom management, communication about goals of care, and support for patients and their families across care settings (home, facility, clinic, and/or inpatient).

Key Responsibilities

• Perform comprehensive palliative assessments, including history and physical exams, review of labs and imaging, and functional/psychosocial evaluation.
• Diagnose and manage acute, chronic, and complex conditions related to serious illness within scope of practice, independently and in collaboration with physicians.
• Provide expert pain and symptom management (e.g., pain, dyspnea, nausea, delirium, anxiety, fatigue) using pharmacologic and non‑pharmacologic interventions.
• Order, perform, and interpret appropriate diagnostic tests and treatments; prescribe medications and durable medical equipment per state and organizational policies.
• Lead or participate in goals‑of‑care, advance care planning, and shared decision‑making conversations with patients, families, and surrogate decision makers.
• Educate patients and families on disease processes, prognosis, treatment options, and palliative/hospice services to support informed choices and self‑management.
• Coordinate transitions of care, including referrals to hospice, specialty care, and community resources; assist with hospice admissions and palliative discharges as needed.
• Collaborate closely with the interdisciplinary team (physicians, RNs, social workers, chaplains, therapists, navigators, etc.) to develop and implement individualized plans of care.
• Provide consultative services to other clinicians regarding complex symptom management, communication, and palliative care best practices.
• Document assessments, clinical findings, care plans, and interventions in the electronic medical record in a timely, accurate, and compliant manner to support quality care and billing.
• Participating in on‑call coverage for palliative patients (often by phone) as assigned, ensuring prompt response to urgent needs and symptom crises.
• Promote patient safety and risk reduction through ongoing monitoring, early identification of decline, and proactive adjustments to the care plan.
• Provide staff and community education on palliative care principles, serious illness communication, and symptom management; act as a clinical resource and role model.
• Contribute to quality improvement, research, or program development initiatives to advance palliative care services and evidence‑based practice.
• Uphold organizational policies, regulatory and accreditation standards, and confidentiality requirements at all times.

Qualifications

• Current, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) license and Nurse Practitioner license in the state of practice.
• Graduate of an accredited nurse practitioner program (MSN or DNP) with national certification (e.g., FNP, AGNP, ACNP, or specialty palliative certification where applicable).
• Minimum of 1–3 years of NP experience preferred; prior experience in palliative care, hospice, oncology, geriatrics, critical care, or related field strongly preferred.
• Valid DEA registration and state prescriptive authority (if applicable) with experience in controlled substance prescribing for pain and symptom management.
• Current BLS (and ACLS if required by setting).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Advanced clinical skills in assessment, diagnosis, and management of patients with serious and life‑limiting illnesses.
• Strong expertise in opioid and adjuvant medication management, including risk assessment, titration, monitoring, and deprescribing.
• Excellent communication skills with demonstrated ability to lead sensitive conversations around prognosis, code status, and goals of care.
• Ability to work effectively within an interprofessional team and across care settings (home, SNF, assisted living, clinic, hospital).
• Strong organizational and time‑management skills, including managing a schedule of home, facility, and/or clinic visits and associated documentation.
• Comfort with electronic medical records, telehealth/virtual visits, and standard office technologies.
• Demonstrated empathy, cultural humility, and ability to support patients and families experiencing serious illness, grief, and caregiver strain.
• Commitment to quality improvement, evidence‑based practice, and ongoing professional development in palliative care.

Work Environment 

• May provide care in patient homes, long‑term care or assisted living facilities, clinics, and via telehealth, depending on program design.
• Requires ability to travel within the service area, carry basic medical equipment, and navigate variable home and facility environments.
• Involves periods of standing, walking, and sitting, as well as occasional lifting or repositioning of patients with appropriate support and equipment.

Physical Activities:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.