The Nurse Practitioner provides advanced nursing care and physician support during the treatment of patients. The Nurse Practitioner provides leadership and support to the overall area of specialty. The Nurse Practitioner documents patient teaching, refers and communicates patient abnormalities to appropriate physicians, performs clinical procedures, serves as a resource for nursing and ancillary staff regarding patient and disease management, and facilitates practices in compliance with JCAHO requirements. The Advanced Practice Nurse with the neurosurgery staff of the Neuroscience Department at JFK primary function is the co-management of patients (i.e., their diagnosis and treatment) under the supervision of the neurosurgical and pain management physicians