Northwestern Medicine · 1 month ago
OR Pavilion Scheduling Specialist, Full-time, Rotating
Chicago, IL
Full-time
Onsite
Mid Level
3+ years expNorthwestern Medicine is a leader in the healthcare industry focused on patient-first interactions. The OR Pavilion Scheduling Specialist is responsible for planning and coordinating the operating room surgery schedule to maximize patient access and ensure efficient use of resources, while acting as a liaison among various departments and staff.
Emergency MedicineHealth CareHospitalMedicalNutritionRehabilitation
Responsibilities
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
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 unanticipated events
Ability to collaborate across departments and build effective relationships with internal and external customers/staff to ensure operational processes are met
Extends knowledge as required of new scheduling processes/service line expansions. Acquires and maintains knowledge of patient throughput/scheduling process changes/operational enhancements
Contacts units/departments to coordinate surgical patients and accurately submits transport requests to the operating room/pre-operative holding area
Accurately completes operating room assignments/on-call assignments for the required staff
Performs all responsibilities in a professional manner that demonstrates appropriate behavior toward staff, peers, external contacts, patients/family members/companions, and other departments guided by our NM AIDET communication tool which conveys all essential information with clarity, compassion and understanding (e.g., Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, and Thank you)
Screens all phone call requests for patient information and refers to appropriate staff
Enters facility work orders and supply order when required by assigned department
Prints final schedules for operating rooms on a daily basis and creates copies and distributes to appropriate areas as needed
Uses computer applications or other automated systems such as excel spreadsheets, word processing, Microsoft Outlook calendar, and Microsoft Outlook e-mail and database software in performing work assignments
Performs clerical and administrative functions under the supervision of the Resource Coordinator/Operations Manager
Patient Tracking System – checks patients in and enters next days cases into system
Registration forms:
Patient Information Complete
Hospital Consent
Advance Directives
Medicaid
Medicare
HIPAA/Privacy
Communicate patient/family information to ASU and OR staff
Provide assistance/directions to volunteers
Ensure patient charts are together for the next day
Order unit supplies
Maintain waiting room area/coffee & vending machine area – supplies for visitors
Other patient registration functions and unit communications as needed
Responds to Emergency Call light by transporting Cardiac Crash cart to appropriate OR, notify managers of situation
Communicates patient / family information to ASU/OR/SDS/Anesthesia/OR Nursing/Recovery room/CSS/ and family waiting areas regarding add-on cases, cancellations, and bypass RR patients
Maintains and updates Nursing Staff Directory (address and home/cell phone numbers)
Maintains and updates triage list
Enters broken equipment into data base for repair and ensures broken pagers are replaced
Facilitates communication between OR / Pre & Post-op / CSS departments
Receives and directs calls from physician offices and patients
Other unit communication coordination functions as needed
Visitor & Vendor coordination
Maintain Visitor/Vendor Sign in & out book
Ensure all Visitor/Vendors have badges
Confirm access approvals in place according to policies
Contact ORSCs, CCs, and others as needed (ask Vendors to wait while ORSC/CC for the OR is contacted/call manager or designee for assistance as needed)
Coordinate scrub attire/lockers as needed
Maintain access approval paperwork for Vendors / Visitors
Checks and orders disposable scrubs as necessary; puts scrubs away upon delivery
Give directions as needed to lounge/cafeterias, etc
Convey messages to nursing staff/CCs as needed
Assist Hospital Transportation staff in checking off / picking up specimens
Offer assistance/directions to others
Other customer service functions as needed
Orders unit supplies
Assists manager and ORSCs with scheduling of conference room, meetings
Maintains locker data base
Support nursing staff scheduling using hospital dedicated scheduling system
Other administrative support as needed
Participates in regularly scheduling perioperative meetings to improve operational performance that leads to better patient outcomes and great patient satisfaction
Qualification
Required
High school diploma or equivalent
3-5 years of relevant surgery scheduling or related work experience
Knowledge/certification completion of medical and scheduling terminology
Basic personal computer knowledge
Preferred
College level experience
Previous hospital and team work group experience
Customer Service experience
EPIC Intraop scheduling experience
Strong organizational skills, and proficiency with computers, and business office equipment
Benefits
Tuition reimbursement
Loan forgiveness
401(k) matching
Lifecycle benefits
Company
Northwestern Medicine
Northwestern Medicine is the collaboration between Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine around a strategic vision to transform the future of health care.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Northwestern Medicine has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (75)
2024 (66)
2023 (70)
2022 (78)
2021 (35)
2020 (39)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$25M2018-06-26Grant· $25M
Leadership Team
Howard Chrisman, MD
President and CEO
John A. Orsini, CPA
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
2026-01-13
Near North Health
2025-12-01
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