Surgery Scheduler - Breast Care Center

Coordinating breast surgery requires far more than finding an open appointment. The Surgery Scheduler plays a critical role in moving patients safely and efficiently through a complex surgical journey, connecting patients, surgeons, clinical teams, operating room resources, and supporting departments so that each case is prepared to proceed as planned.

This position is ideal for an experienced healthcare scheduling professional who thrives on details, anticipates next steps, and takes ownership of complex workflows. Success requires proactive follow-through, strong patient communication, sound judgment, and the ability to manage multiple time-sensitive priorities with a high degree of accuracy.

The Role

As a Surgery Scheduler in the Breast Care Center, you will coordinate the administrative and operational components of surgical care from the decision for surgery through postoperative scheduling. You will work closely with surgeons, nurses, access teams, authorization staff, OR Scheduling, and other specialties to help patients navigate a process that may involve multiple appointments, procedures, providers, and locations.

An average day may include:

• Coordinating breast surgical cases from initial order through surgery, reviewing orders for procedure, diagnosis, laterality, completeness, and other required case details.
• Scheduling procedures accurately in Epic applications such as OpTime and managing placement on the Snapboard based on procedure, room, timing, and operational requirements.
• Identifying missing or conflicting information and working with providers and clinical teams to resolve issues before surgery.
• Proactively monitoring case readiness, including outstanding orders, documentation, preoperative requirements, insurance authorization, testing, and other administrative items that could delay care.
• Coordinating preoperative and postoperative appointments and, when available, aligning appointments to reduce unnecessary trips for patients.
• Coordinating complex, combined, or multi-surgeon cases across specialties when applicable, including alignment of surgeon availability, OR time, procedural requirements, equipment, supplies, grafts, tissues, and preference cards.
• Using historical case information, surgeon estimates, room turnover, and other factors to support appropriate case-duration planning.
• Communicating schedule changes, cancellations, and same-day additions to patients, providers, OR Scheduling, and other impacted teams.
• Providing patients with clear information regarding scheduling, preoperative requirements, appointment logistics, and what to expect based on established clinical guidance, while appropriately escalating clinical questions to licensed members of the care team.
• Obtaining and verifying insurance information and collaborating with authorization, billing, and clinical teams to address pre-certification, authorization, network, or financial-clearance requirements.
• Applying working knowledge of medical terminology, ICD-10-CM and CPT information within surgical scheduling workflows.
• Managing a high-volume, time-sensitive schedule, adjusting priorities as cancellations, urgent needs, provider availability, and patient circumstances change.
• Maintaining accurate information within Epic, departmental databases, the Department Appointments Report (DAR), and other applicable scheduling systems.
• Supporting registration and scheduling cross-coverage and contributing to the orientation and development of new team members.

A key responsibility of this role is maximizing access to surgery while making effective use of available operating room capacity. When cases are cancelled, you will review eligible patients who may be able to move to an earlier date, confirm readiness and authorization requirements, and coordinate changes with the patient and care team. You will also monitor provider OR utilization, facilitate appropriate release of unused block time, and help identify opportunities across the Division or Department to use available capacity.

Throughout the process, you will serve as an important point of connection for patients and their care teams. Attention to detail matters, but so does seeing the bigger picture: knowing what still needs to happen, recognizing potential barriers, and taking action before those barriers delay a patient's care.

Why UVA Health

At UVA Health, surgical scheduling is an essential part of delivering coordinated, patient-centered care. Working within an academic health system gives you the opportunity to collaborate with a broad range of healthcare professionals while supporting patients through a particularly important point in their care.

In the Breast Care Center, you will have an opportunity to:

• Become an integral part of a multidisciplinary care team, working alongside clinical and operational professionals to coordinate complex patient needs.
• Build specialized expertise in breast surgery scheduling and the workflows that support surgical readiness and timely access to care.
• Directly influence the patient experience by helping patients understand next steps and navigate the operational aspects of their surgical journey.
• Use your knowledge of Epic, healthcare access, insurance authorization, procedural scheduling, and OR operations in a role requiring both technical expertise and independent problem-solving.
• Help improve access by identifying opportunities to fill cancellations and maximize available surgical capacity.
• Work with significant autonomy while remaining closely connected to surgeons, clinical teams, and operational partners.

This is an opportunity for a skilled scheduler to move beyond transactional appointment scheduling and take meaningful ownership of the surgical coordination process, helping ensure patients, providers, and operating room teams are prepared for the care ahead.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Education: High School Graduate or equivalent required, Associates Degree in a related field preferred.
Experience: Internal Candidates: Demonstrated proficiency in the duties of the Access Associate Senior role.
External Candidates: 3 years’ experience in a clinical setting (hospital, surgery center or ambulatory clinic) in an administrative or clinical role required.
License/Certification: None required. Certified Healthcare Access Associate (CHAA) preferred.

OTHER SKILLS:
Proficient communication skills across spoken and written domains. Adequate auditory and visual skills.

Attention to detail and ability to write legibly and compose messages clearly and concisely.

Completed coursework or on-the-job training in medical terminology and/or CPT-coding and/or anatomy.

Strong problem-solving skills.

Required Computer Applications: MS Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook) and Epic.

Must be able to understand and comply with policies and procedures.


Job requires sitting for prolonged periods; frequently bending/stooping, reaching (overhead, extensive, and repetitive: computer keyboard and mouse use). Attention to detail and ability to write legibly; Ability to lift/push/pull < 20lbs.  May be exposed to chemicals, blood/body fluids and infectious disease.

GENERAL INFORMATION:
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this position.  They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required of personnel so classified.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Benefits Package: Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Retirement Savings
• Long-term and Short-term Disability
• Health Saving Plans, and Flexible Spending Accounts
• Certification and Education Support

UVA Health is a world-class Magnet Recognized academic medical center and health system with a level 1 trauma center. 2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” guide rates UVA Health University Medical Center as “High Performing” in 5 adult specialties and 14 conditions/procedures. We are one of 70 National Cancer Institute designated cancer centers. UVA Health Children’s is named by 2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report as the best children's hospital in Virginia with 9 specialties ranked among the best in the nation. Our footprint also encompasses 3 community hospitals and an integrated network of primary and specialty care clinics throughout Charlottesville, Culpeper, Northern Virginia, and beyond.

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.