Nurse Flow Coordinator

University of Maryland Medical System•Baltimore, MD

5d•$47 - $71

About The Position

Under the general direction of a Nurse Manager, the Nurse Flow Coordinator assumes administrative responsibility for the Department of Nursing during an assigned shift. The Coordinator serves as a liaison between administration and staff during non-business hours, helps unit personnel resolve problems and interpret institutional policies and procedures, and coordinates patient care services. The role collaborates with Nurse Managers to ensure decisions align with unit and divisional goals, represents hospital administration, and assists the Administrator On-Call with issues requiring immediate on-site management attention. The Coordinator supports patient placement and bed management by maintaining accurate information about bed and service availability, coordinating assignments with the Admitting Office, and working with hospital and physician leadership to address barriers to patient flow. The role makes authoritative decisions about patient placement, level of care, transfers, and admission timing, while matching patients’ clinical needs with unit resources and staff competencies. The Coordinator also responds to clinical issues and codes, supports patient safety, helps ensure appropriate staffing and resource deployment, and contributes to staff education, research support, and performance improvement efforts.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited School of Nursing with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing.
Current licensure in the State of Maryland or eligibility for licensure.
Three years of nursing work experience in a Medical/Surgical and/or Critical Care unit.
BLS certification.
ACLS certification.

Responsibilities

Maintain and communicate accurate information about the availability and type of patient beds and services, and coordinate patient and bed assignments with the Admitting Office.
Anticipate and respond to patient problems or complaints, ensure availability of resources for patient care, and assist in evaluating care services against established nursing standards.
When directed by the Administrator On-Call and in the absence of nursing leadership, initiate and coordinate external disaster plan actions.
Serve as a primary resource for nursing personnel by responding to clinical issues and guiding staff according to nursing standards and practice.
Institute disciplinary action when appropriate and required under UMMS Human Resources policies and procedures.
Assist charge nurses in identifying staffing resources and coordinate staff utilization to meet unit needs.
Assist with implementation of Primary Nursing through development and implementation of unit-based nursing practice standards.
Work with the Operations Center and Nurse Managers on patient flow, bed access, and safe staffing; monitor patient flow and placement while considering financial and regulatory issues.
Respond to departmental codes and provide clinical and administrative support; work with the CPR team nurse on adult code response and post-code assessment.
Assist with placement and transport of acutely ill patients, and provide for the specialized care needs of post-arrest patients pending transfer to an appropriate critical care unit.
Oversee interim management of patients who require specialized care but are not in intensive care units.
Educate nursing staff about legal principles affecting nursing care, including consent, blood administration, patient elopement, and discharge against medical advice.
Support Department of Nursing research activities and promote staff professional development and education, including providing unit coverage for off-shift in-services as required.
Identify educational needs and collaborate in planning, implementing, and evaluating in-services and continuing education programs for nurses.
Collaborate with hospital and physician leadership to identify and address barriers to patient flow; negotiate bed placement and off-service placement with physicians, staff, and managers.
Ensure an efficient bed management process, timely bed assignments, prioritized admissions and transfers, clinically appropriate levels of care, and pre-assignment of scheduled patients.
Match patient clinical needs with staff competencies and unit resources to support safe placement decisions; manage complex placement decisions and communicate the rationale for decisions.
Deploy necessary resources, such as housekeeping, to support timely bed access, particularly when bed requirements change suddenly.
Develop, implement, and monitor patient-placement trends, including census, Express Care, denials, and Red Alert status, to improve the placement process.
Maintain awareness of patient census, Alert Status, OR, STC Fly-by, and ExpressCare demands; analyze patient throughput, identify barriers, track bed turnaround time, and analyze variances.
Prepare and communicate program outcome data to key stakeholders and managers in real time, and lead performance improvement efforts related to patient placement and access.
Make decisions about placing scheduled and emergency patients, determining level of care, using PACU, ED, or landing-zone placement, transferring or deferring patients to system partner hospitals with attending physician agreement, and negotiating or denying transfers when appropriate.
Promote patient safety, take action to correct observed risks, report adverse events and near misses, and identify and communicate risks in processes, procedures, and devices.