Job Description of a Health Care Unit Coordinator
Health unit coordinators work in medically related organizations like hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, hospices and insurance companies assisting the medical staff. Often they serve as liaison between the patients and doctors, nursing and other departments within the facility. Health care unit coordinators benefit from being able to connect everyone involved in the hospital, which gives them a level of confidence due to their knowledge of the inner workings of the facility.
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Responsibility and Duties
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Health unit coordinators may greet and check in patients, ensure appointments are scheduled and perform other office duties. They also draft and verify birth and death certificates. They may order supplies, ensure patient schedules are in sync with the physician and nursing staff, graph temperatures and make sure the patients are properly admitted and discharged. They are in charge of managing equipment and ordering any supplies that the facility needs to function.
Skills
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Health care unit coordinators must be proficient in medical terminology and medical transcription. They must be comfortable with computers and have extensive clerical skills including filing, data entry, copying and switchboard phone systems. They need to have effective communication skills, patience and the ability to explain information to others in an understandable way. They must be highly organized.
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Education
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Health coordinators typically have a high school diploma or equivalent and graduate from classes taken at a vocational school that trains them in a medical, communication and clinical skills. Vocational programs for health care coordination typically run from six to12 months. Often schools have job placement programs to place graduates in various medical facilities in their area.
Licenses
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Health care unit coordinators can become certified by taking the National Health Unit Coordinators Examination. Certification is optional, but it may increase chances of employment over someone who is not certified. Successful passing of the examination designates someone as a Certified Health Unit Coordinator (CHUC). The exam is given through the National Association of Health Unit Coordinators. Memberships, seminars and continuing education courses are also available within the association.
Salary
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Health unit coordinators, according to Indeed.com, as of 2010, average an annual salary of $56,000. Location, industry and the facility where employed may determine a larger or smaller salary. Further education and longer experience also ensure a higher salary.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit hospital consultant image by Peter Baxter from Fotolia.com
