Unit Secretary - CA5 ICU, Days (3 12-hour shifts)

The University of Kansas Health System - Kansas City, KS

Full-time

Kansas City, KS

Hospitals

About the position

The Unit Secretary in the CA5 ICU plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth operation of the unit by acting as a liaison between patients, visitors, and healthcare team members. This position requires a customer-focused approach, greeting all individuals in a courteous manner and ensuring that patient charts are organized, accurate, and complete according to hospital standards. The Unit Secretary is responsible for initiating the breakdown of charts and completing discharge checklists, which are essential for maintaining the flow of patient care and documentation. In addition to managing patient records, the Unit Secretary monitors the electronic health record system for new orders, consults, treatment teams, patient status updates, new results, and advance directives. This role also involves completing order entries for necessary equipment, dietary needs, and transport orders, as well as ordering patient supplies and unit equipment as required. The Unit Secretary is tasked with monitoring and updating inventory levels and ensuring that downtime bins are adequately stocked. Furthermore, they enter dietary intake data and assist with safety and environmental rounds, contributing to the overall cleanliness and infection prevention efforts within the unit. The responsibilities of the Unit Secretary extend to answering telephone calls, triaging them appropriately, and assisting in monitoring patient disposition as they leave or return to the unit. They also help with non-patient care needs as requested by unit staff, such as delivering mail or flowers, and ensuring that the call light system is updated with patient assignments for each shift. The Unit Secretary may be required to provide constant observation of patients and is expected to maintain a neat and orderly work area. Scheduling follow-up appointments for patients and transporting items to ancillary departments are also part of the role. Overall, the Unit Secretary must be able to perform the professional, clinical, and technical competencies required for the assigned unit or department, adapting to various duties as needed.

Responsibilities

• Acts as a liaison, greeting visitors, patients, and healthcare team members in a courteous manner.
• Ensures patient charts are organized, accurate, and complete per hospital chart order.
• Initiates breakdown of charts and completes discharge checklists.
• Monitors electronic records for new orders, consults, treatment teams, patient status, new results, and advance directives.
• Completes order entry for equipment, advance diet, and transport orders.
• Orders patient supplies and unit equipment as needed.
• Monitors and updates inventory and downtime bins.
• Enters dietary intake data.
• Assists with safety and environmental rounds, monitoring cleanliness and infection prevention efforts.
• Answers telephone calls and triages them to the unit, consults, support, and ancillary departments as needed.
• Assists in monitoring patient disposition at all times using a log.
• Assists with non-patient care needs as requested by unit staff.
• Completes needed filing and ensures call light system is updated with patient assignments each shift.
• Informs Admitting of discharges immediately upon patient leaving the unit if needed.
• May be required to provide constant observation of patients.
• Maintains work area in a neat and orderly fashion.
• Schedules follow-up appointments for patients.
• Transports items to ancillary departments as needed.

Requirements

• High School Graduate
• Basic Life Support Heartsaver (BLS HS) certification from the American Heart Association (AHA)
• Completion of Medical Terminology class preferred