OR Pavilion Scheduling Specialist, Full-time, Rotating

Company Description

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

Job Description

Schedule: The orientation schedule is from 8am-4:30pm, and the regular shift will be M-F 8:00am-4:30pm. This position will also cover shift gaps, call-offs, vacations, and absences for all OR Pavilion Scheduling Specialists and the Feinberg Control Desk. Rotation may include weekend shifts and holiday coverage as needed by the department.

The OR Pavilion Scheduling Specialist, Operating Room reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

The OR Pavilion Scheduling Specialist, Operating Room supports the Operating Room (OR) scheduling production process through planning and coordinating OR surgery schedule to maximize patient access and efficient use of operating rooms, equipment, and staff under supervision of the Medical Director/Anesthesia Coordinator/Director/Manager/Resource Coordinator. This position will act as an office scheduling liaison for the pavilion operating room staff, physicians, and management to relay patient throughput and scheduling information requiring interfacing with supporting departments.  

Responsibilities:

Scheduling Functions:

• Accesses protected health information (PHI) and ensures all job duties are in accordance with NM confidentiality policies and procedures and HIPPA guidelines.
• Demonstrate in-depth scheduling working knowledge and expertise with clinical based computer systems by initiating, coordinating and maintaining the schedule over the operating room pavilion(s).
• Monitors tentative operating room schedules and identifies scheduling barriers (e.g., surgical procedures/procedure name and discrepancies in type of operating room (OR)/pavilion assignment) and contacts appropriate scheduling office/service and implements solutions to improve scheduling workflow.
• Collaborates with Medical Director/Anesthesia/surgeons/nursing/scheduling office to complete adjustments to the OR schedule prior to surgery date and communicates changes to scheduling office/Central Scheduling and others as appropriate.
• Interacts effectively and acts as the pavilion liaison between multiple supporting departments to gather information needed to schedule surgeries consistent with department guidelines and reviewing physician scheduling requests and patient needs.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with physicians, nursing, staff, and management.
• Determines order in which surgical procedures are scheduled, by reviewing procedure type/category/case level, duration time, and OR availability and schedules cases in accordance with Surgical Services scheduling guidelines.
• Assigns operating suites and equipment and block times to maximize efficient use of resources and communicates to the appropriate staff of the changes.
• Collaborates and participates in the OR daily huddle with Pavilion Medical Director/Manager for final approval of the next day surgical schedule.
• Ensures, maintains, and validates the surgery schedule is accurate and aligns with the scheduling guidelines in an efficient and equitable manner.
• Cross trained to fill in and effectively perform all other job functions across surgical pavilions to staffing relief/coverage for the Information liaison(s)/OR Pavilion Scheduling Specialists(s)/Resource Coordinator, as needed.

Control Desk Functions:

• Assists the Anesthesia Coordinator/OR Clinical Coordinator at the Control Desk to ensure optimal care and coordination of current day surgical patients.
• Answer high volume phone line and aids the caller/employee to include accurately scheduling same day/next day add-on procedures within the electronic health record (e.g., EPIC).
• Effectively communicates information with other departments, staff, management and physicians.
• Recognizes and responds appropriately to semi-urgent/urgent/emergent scheduling situations per protocols.
• Assists with rescheduling surgeries as needed to accommodate emergencies other unantic