Nursing Assistant 51
Health Unit Coordinator

What is a Health Unit Coordinator?

Whether you are a student beginning an educational program or a health care employee, you will probably experience difficulty in trying to explain to a relative or a friend what you will be doing as a health unit coordinator. Why? Because the public is aware of doctors, nurses, dentists, and possibly a few other health occupations, but most people do not understand the important role of the health unit coordinator in the delivery of healthcare. By contrast, understanding of your profession is much different within the health care community. When you share with another health professional that you are a health unit coordinator or that you are studying to become one, the comments are: "It's one of the most important positions on the nursing unit," "we are so disorganized if the unit coordinator is not there," the unit coordinator creates the attitude for the entire unit,"  "the unit coordinator sets the pace for the day's work," and "ask the unit coordinator- she/he knows everything." 

The health unit coordinator organizes the activities for the nursing unit and manages its nonclinical functions; therefore, the health unit coordinator can enhance or inhibit the delivery of health care to the patients on the nursing unit. The overall job is nonclinical in nature, meaning that the health unit coordinator does not perform any bedside nursing care. The work area is the nurses' station. As a health unit coordinator, you are a vital member of the healthcare team. What you do for the team includes coordinating the activities of the nursing staff, the doctors, the hospital departments, the patients, and the visitors for the nursing unit. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: greeting new patients and accompanying them to their rooms, communicating all new doctors' orders to the patient's nurse, maintaining the client's chart, performing the nonclinical tasks of admission, transfer, and discharge of a patient, preparing the client's chart for surgery, transcribing the doctors' orders, scheduling diagnostic procedures and treatments including lab tests, ordering all supplies for the nursing unit, and handling all telephone communication for the nursing unit. As you can see it is a very important position- one that will bring you great satisfaction because you make a huge difference in many peoples' days.