Unit Secretary

Job Description

Inova Health Plex - Franconia - Springfield is looking for a dedicated Unit Secretary to join our Emergency Department. This role will be full-time mid shift, days vary - 3 (12-hour shifts - 11:00am to 11:00pm), weekend and holidays.

Inova is consistently ranked as a national healthcare leader in safety, quality and patient experience. We are also proud to be consistently recognized as a top employer in both the D.C. metro area and the nation.


Featured Benefits:

• Committed to Team Member Health : offering medical, dental and vision coverage, and a robust team member wellness program.
• Retirement : Inova matches the first 5% of eligible contributions - starting on your first day.
• Tuition and Student Loan Assistance : offering up to $5,250 per year in education assistance and up to $10,000 for student loans.
• Mental Health Support : offering all Inova team members, their spouses/partners, and their children 25 mental health coaching or therapy sessions, per person, per year, at no cost.
• Work/Life Balance : offering paid time off, paid parental leave

Unit Secretary Job Responsibilities:

The Unit Secretary performs a variety of clerical activities to support efficient department operations. Provides prompt, efficient reception support for the unit. Provides secretarial support to ensure effective maintenance of confidential patient information.

• Performs a variety of clerical activities and unit specific work to support efficient department operations; Copies and faxes records and other information as needed; Maintains and updates physician and lab databases; Maintains forms and clerical supplies and ensures maintenance of medical supplies based on par levels; Attends staff and committee meetings and takes minutes as requested; Prepares unit charges as appropriate for specific unit needs.
• Provides support to ensure effective maintenance of confidential patient information; Creates, maintains, and terminates patient charts in compliance with Medical Records guidelines; Ensures the integrity of the medical record, including patient identification on all chart forms; Obtains and files test results, lab reports and treatment in charts; Update patient charts in GECE/IDX with the time of discharge and moves them to EDDIS in a timely manner; Runs and distributes EPIC reports as requested by leader.
• Answers incoming and logs all outgoing calls and takes accurate and complete messages; Pages program personnel, other departments, and physicians, as needed.
• Assists in answering call bells and communicating specific patient needs to staff; Triages and escalates patient issues to next care provider if time exceeds 5 minutes or sooner as appropriate.
• Facilitates the movement of patients into and out of unit and keeps the Charge nurse informed of patients to be admitted or transferred; Coordinates with nurses, patient transport and admission personnel regarding admissions and transfers; Schedules diagnostic tests and lab work as prescribed by nursing and medical staff.
• Guarantees that all chart documents are placed in the chart in preparation for transfer or discharge. Returns old medical records to Medical Record Department at discharge. Scans, fax and/or sends patient documents to Medical Records in a timely and accurate manner. Maintains chart forms in correct placement in the chart behind the correct chart tab. Sends thinned charts to new unit upon transfer or to Medical Records upon discharge; Transcribes physicians' orders accurately and in a timely manner.
• Greets patients, families and visitors as they enter the unit. Provides non-clinical information (e.g. directions to a department, location of a patient's room, identification of assigned nurse) to patients, family members, visitors, staff, and physicians; Monitors patient and visitor movements at the nursing station and provide information to facilitate prompt patient care; Ensures that the desk remains covered at all times.
• Generates and maintains tools necessary for patient care (Kardex, MAR, Treatment sheets, Admission Order Forms, Progress Notes, Consult Sheets); Maintains patient census and status boards, log books, and computer databases, ensuring that date and records are current and accurate.
• May perform additional duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Education: High School diploma or equivalent
• Certification: Basic Life Support (BLS) certification if also works as a Clinical Tech.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Healthcare experience
• Bilingual - Spanish or other languages
• Efficient in Microsoft Office

About Us

We are Inova, Northern Virginia's leading nonprofit healthcare provider. Every day, our 26,000+ team members provide world-class healthcare to the communities we serve. Our people are the reason we're a national leader in healthcare safety, quality and patient experience. And from best-in-class facilities to professional development opportunities, we support them at every step. At Inova, we're constantly striving to be ever better - to shape a more compassionate future for healthcare.


Inova Health is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, pregnancy (including childbirth, pregnancy-related conditions and lactation), race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristics protected by law.