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Manager-Patient Access

Northwestern Medicine · Glenview, IL · Full time · Health Care Provider

Posted Oct 5, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you had to coach or discipline a supervisor or lead who reported to you.

What they are checking: Managing through other leaders, which is required for a role with this span.

Tell me about a time you built a budget or managed labor costs for a department.

What they are checking: Experience owning fiscal outcomes, which the posting lists alongside HR and quality.

How do you identify and develop people on your team who could become leaders?

What they are checking: Talent development, which the posting explicitly names as a manager responsibility.

How do you keep morale up in a job where staff hear complaints all day?

What they are checking: Supporting frontline access staff so turnover and burnout do not undermine service.

What would you do

You would lead access operations in Glenview, Grayslake with its 24/7 ED, Deerfield, Vernon Hills and Gurnee. How would you lead teams spread across that many sites?

What they are checking: A real plan for presence, communication and consistency when the manager cannot be everywhere.

Registration errors are causing insurance denials at one site. How would you find the cause and fix it?

What they are checking: Root cause thinking that ties front-end work to downstream revenue cycle results.

The ED registration desk at Grayslake is short-staffed overnight. You are on call. What do you do?

What they are checking: Using the on-call role well and solving coverage problems without compromising patient care.

A physician complains that patients wait too long to get scheduled at their practice. How do you respond?

What they are checking: Partnering with clinical leaders and using data instead of getting defensive.

How would you roll out a new registration workflow across five sites and make sure it sticks?

What they are checking: Change management, including training, follow-up audits and listening to frontline feedback.

About the work

What metrics do you watch most closely in patient access, and what do you do when one slips?

What they are checking: Fluency with registration accuracy, denials, wait times and financial clearance as drivers of revenue and experience.

How do you explain the value of financial clearance and financial counseling to a patient who is upset about a bill estimate?

What they are checking: Understanding price transparency and counseling services, and coaching staff to handle those talks well.

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The full job description

As published by Northwestern Medicine.

The Access Manager reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organizations Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards. The Access Manager leads operations within the NMHC Access Division in Glenview, Grayslake (includes a 24/7 ED), Deerfield, Vernon Hills, and Gurnee . This position includes an on-call rotating schedule and will require a flexible work schedule (mid-morning and late afternoon hours). The Access Division operates registration desks, practice and hospital scheduling, hospital operators, physician referral services, financial clearance and financial counseling services across the NM System. The Access Manager is responsible for fiscal, human resource, and quality outcomes for their defined service or department. The Manager places the needs of the patient and other customers as a first priority and demonstrates the skills necessary to meet and exceed expectations. The Manager engages others on a clearly defined, clearly communicated vision and engages individuals and groups to achieve that vision. The Manager identifies and develops organizational talent and embraces continuous learning of self and others. The Access Manager oversees all aspects of the provision of services including the maintenance of safety, performance, quality, practice guidelines, service delivery and patient and customer satisfaction. This position is responsible for financial control and accountability for establishing and monitoring its operating and capital budgets. The manager is responsible for translating the organizations and divisions mission, objectives, policies and procedures into effective action. Responsibilities: Time, People and Resource Management: • Establishes, implements, and monitors the unit or service areas capital and operating budget to achieve defined targets. • Recruits and retains staff members consistent with the unit and organizations human resource plan. • Develops systems for the responsible use of all hospital and practice resources. • Defines and advances support systems (Telecom, Scheduling and Registration) process in support of departmental, patient and Access Division needs. • Ensures all staff are trained and developed in all aspects of operations to optimize operational efficiency and effectiveness. Customer Focus: • Clearly identifies the internal and external customer(s) for their unit or service area and their respective requirements/expectations. • Actively seeks methods of concurrent and retrospective feedback from customers, listens to customer feedback and implements solutions and/or interventions as appropriate. Creative Leadership: • Translates organizational vision into a unit or service area vision that engages staff in contributing to and achieving that vision. Coaching and Development: • Provides daily, just-in-time feedback to improve performance and self-esteem of staff. • Tracks coaching discussions and actual performance of associates to ensure accountability. • Seeks ways to match staff members talents and career interests with organizational opportunities. Continuous Learning: • Continually examines ways to improve business relationships with customers, suppliers, community, etc. • Seeks and is open to new ideas from a wide range of sources; encourages others to share knowledge and best practices. Additional Responsibilities: • Ensures measurement and achievement of key performance indicators of the department and devises improvement strategies where needed to ensure performance • Measure performance against goals in dashboards produced to customers • Ensures the development, delivery and maintenance of technical in-service and continuing education programs to ensure the continuing evolution of staff competence Quality Management • Collaborates with medical leadership in the development and implementation of programs/systems • Maintains current knowledge of technical/clinical requirement of the department • Monitors patient satisfaction on a regular, periodic and consistent basis and takes appropriate action based upon customer feedback. Required: • Bachelor's degree in Health Care or related field • Progressive leadership experience • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills • Proficient problem solving and decision making skills, with ability to confront and resolve issues Preferred: • Master's degree • Experience with automated call center management, measurement and reporting for Access Managers overseeing contact centers Northwestern Medicine is an equal opportunity employer (disability, VETS) and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status. Background Check Northwestern Medicine conducts a background check that includes criminal history on newly hired team members and, at times, internal transfers. If you are offered a position with us, you will be required to complete an authorization and disclosure form that gives Northwestern Medicine permission to run the background check. Results are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and we follow all local, state, and federal laws, including the Illinois Health Care Worker Background Check Act. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used in some portions of the candidate review process for this position, however, all employment decisions will be made by a person. Benefits We offer a wide range of benefits that provide employees with tools and resources to improve their physical, emotional, and financial well-being while providing protection for unexpected life events. Click on or copy and paste URL to your browser to view detailed benefits information NorthwesternMedicine Career Page https://jobs.nm.org/benefits Please refer to the Benefits Eligibility by Employment Classification to determine benefits eligibility for job postings. If sign-on bonus is included in a job posting eligibility is as followed: Internal employees and rehires who left Northwestern Medicine within 1 year are not eligible for the sign-on bonus. Exception : New graduate internal employees seeking their first licensed clinical position as a Registered Nurse at NM may be eligible.

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