Job Description
Under the direction of Transplant Surgery, the Sr. Physician Assistant provides comprehensive inpatient medical management for liver and kidney transplant recipients, with primary responsibility for care during the early post-operative, long-term, and complex post-transplant phases. This role requires advanced clinical judgment to independently assess, diagnose, and manage high-acuity transplant patients, including interpreting transplant-specific laboratory data and diagnostic studies, and managing immunosuppression and transplant-related complications. The Sr. Physician Assistant evaluates patients for escalation of care, performs procedures as credentialed, provides consultative services, and ensures accurate, timely documentation in the medical record. The UC San Diego Center for Transplantation is a nationally recognized, regionally leading academic center that provides comprehensive transplant care in heart, lung, kidney, liver, and multi-organ transplants. The Inpatient Abdominal Transplant Nurse Practitioner/ Physician Assistant works in close collaboration with transplant surgeons, transplant hepatologists and nephrologists, and the multidisciplinary transplant team to ensure continuity and consistency of care across the inpatient setting. Responsibilities include presenting patients during daily rounds and transplant clinical meetings, coordinating care across disciplines, and serving as a leader and clinical liaison to promote standardized medical and surgical management throughout the transplant program. As a key member of the team, they assist in resolving complex clinical issues and communicate directly with surgeons, attending physicians and other multidisciplinary team members. In addition, the PA provides education to transplant patients and families regarding post-transplant care, medication management, discharge planning, follow-up care, rejection risk, and recovery expectations, and serves as a clinical resource for inpatient nursing staff caring for transplant populations. The role includes participation in quality improvement initiatives, policy development, evidence-based practice, and professional activities, with evolving responsibilities as patient, system, and program needs change.
