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Health unit coordinators provide support
in areas of the hospital where nursing care is provided to patients.
They perform a variety of services to patients, visitors, and hospital
management.
Health unit coordinators receive new patients
and give information and direction to visitors. They must have good
communication skills to perform well at answering the telephone,
providing information to the health professional staff, answering
patient signals, and taking and delivering messages.
Health
Unit Coordinator
Unit coordinators also need a working knowledge
of medical terminology for transcribing physicians' orders, copying
and compiling information from patients' charts, and scheduling tests
and appointments for patients. Other duties include maintenance of
records maintenance and adequate inventories of supplies and equipment.
At the direction of nurses or doctors, the unit coordinator also makes
emergency code calls. The unit coordinator must be responsible, mature,
dependable, and able to work with a variety of different people in
a very busy area of the hospital.
Areas of Specialization
Specialty areas include reception, scheduling, communication, archive
maintenance, clerical duties, coordination of non-clinical tasks,
and safety.
Work Environment
Most health unit coordinators work in hospitals. Others may be employed
in physicians' offices, nursing homes, medical clinics, or other
areas where medical-clerical employees are needed. The work environment
is often fast-paced with many activities in progress at any given
time. Unit coordinators usually work a 40-hour week, often on rotating
shifts involving weekends and nights.
Job Outlook
With population growth and expanding medical technology, the job
outlook for qualified employees is very good.
Length of Training/Requirements
Although health unit coordinators may receive on-the-job training,
many hospitals prefer to hire those who graduated from formal education
programs. These programs are offered by vocational schools, adult
education centers, and community colleges and usually take one year
or less to complete. In the formal training programs, students receive
a combination of classroom and clinical training. They learn clerical
skills, medical terminology, hospital organization, legal and ethical
responsibilities, transcription of doctors' orders, computer operation,
and other relevant courses. High school students interested in this
field should take English, science, math, and secretarial courses.
Licensure/Certification
Certification is voluntary. The National Association of Health Unit
Coordinators (NAHUC) offers a certification examination. Certification
allows the person to work anywhere in the United States as a health
unit coordinator. Thirty-six continuing education hours are required
every three years for recertification.
Updated: 2007 |
