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This position has closed. Northwestern Medicine removed this listing from their careers page on Sep 26, 2026. The interview prep below is still useful, and there are similar open roles at the bottom of this page.

Patient Access Ops Coordinator

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

Posted Sep 18, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 25, 2026

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 supervising a patient access or front desk team.

What they are checking: The posting names training, performance appraisals and employee relations for the team.

The role involves walking and working across multiple worksites in Chicago. How does that fit your life?

What they are checking: The posting states it plainly.

What would you do

Someone calls in sick and you are short at two sites. What do you do?

What they are checking: The posting names coordinating coverage across multiple worksites.

How do you balance patient access satisfaction against provider productivity when they conflict?

What they are checking: The posting names both as goals of the scheduling work, and they pull apart.

How do you present a recommendation to management and get it acted on?

What they are checking: The posting names reporting findings and recommendations to management.

Tell me about coaching someone whose customer service was not good enough.

What they are checking: The posting names progressive discipline, and patient access is judged on first impressions.

How do you make sure staff actually know a policy has changed?

What they are checking: The posting names ensuring staff have access to policies, procedures and training.

How do you handle a patient who has escalated past your team?

What they are checking: The coordinator is the next stop, and how they take it sets the tone.

About the work

How do you build a staffing schedule that covers the whole day without burning people out?

What they are checking: The posting names scheduling staff and allocating resources across hours of operation.

How do you spot a trend in the numbers before it becomes a complaint?

What they are checking: The posting names identifying, analyzing and communicating key issues and trends.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Northwestern Medicine from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

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The full job description

As published by Northwestern Medicine.

The Patient Access Ops Coordinator reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards. This position provides exceptional customer service to consumers, which establish a positive first impression of Northwestern Medicine. The Patient Access Ops Coordinator exceeds all internal and external consumer requests and alert management of issues or concerns that require escalation. Responsibilities: • Assists with training, progressive discipline, dismissals, performance appraisals, and employee relations. • Schedule staff and allocate resources across hours of operation to maximize patient access satisfaction, provider productivity and efficiency, staff productivity, cost-savings, and operational efficiencies. • Ensure staff has access to necessary policies, procedures, training and other resources necessary to complete their responsibilities, and that policies and procedures are updated as necessary. Provide one to one coaching and mentoring. • Coordinates and manages staff scheduling and coverage to accomplish optimum coverage. This may involve walking and working in multiple worksites. • Identifies, analyzes and communicates key issues/trends and reports findings and recommendations to management. • Provides input to management on budget issues, staffing, cost containment strategies and capital needs. • Provides staff with monthly attendance review. • Works on a daily basis in regards to staffing, operations, performance and goal measurement and tracking. • Assists in leading and/or developing employee engagement participation and improvement. • Assists in leading and/or developing plans with team, Team Lead, and Manager to ensure patient satisfaction goals are met. • Leads training and coaching exercises with employees to continuously improve skill sets. • Actively ensures staff compliance to Rules of Personal Conduct. • Facilitates a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach to patient care and interdepartmental problem solving/service delivery. • Develops tools to support staff and enhance efficiency. • Provides input into staff performance reviews. May participate with manager in conduction staff performance reviews. • Reviews and approves Automated Time Reports for accuracy. • Completes other duties assigned by manager. • Assesses and communicates staff development needs to manager as well as providing feedback to the Manager to support periodic individual evaluations of staff. • Coaches, motivates and further develops staff to support achievement of department goals and for the continued success of the organization. • Plans, executes and resolves all routine technical needs of the unit (phone, copiers, fax machines, PCs, etc). • Gathers all information required for departmental reporting. Produces reports as required. • Monitors daily transaction activity to ensure compliance with procedures. • Identifies, investigates, and develops support for and assists in the implementation of new tools/technology necessary to maintain and improve productivity, effectiveness, quality, customer service, reduce risk and/or reduce costs. • Is proactive in preventing issues with patient visit by double checking type of test, preps required, assuring no conflict with other tests, verifying time and location, communicating relevant information and documenting order retrieval in notes for check-in person. • Understands minimum data set required for a complete registration, collects and verifies critical data and updates that information into registration system. • Understands departmental and individual quality metrics. • Proactively analyzes account activity, identifies problems, and initiates appropriate actions/resolutions. • Evaluates procedures and suggests improvements to enhance customer service and operational efficiency. • Participates in departmental quality improvement activities. • Provides ideas and suggestions for process improvements within the department. Monitors registration and scheduling, including insurance verification to ensure processing within prescribed quality standards. • Adjusts processes as needed to meet standards. • Uses organizational and unit/department resources efficiently. • Acts as a training resource for new staff and a resource for coworkers, sharing process and workflow information. Required : • Four to seven years of increasingly responsible positions within a related health care or customer service setting. • Excellent interpersonal verbal communication skills. Excellent problem solving skills. • Received favorable annual performance reviews if internal applicant in the past one to two years. • Ability to read and communicate effectively in English. • Basic computer skills. • Ability to type 40 wpm. • Excellent verbal and written communication skills. • Ability to multi-task. Customer service-oriented. • Excellent organizational, time management, analytical, and problem solving skills. Preferred : • Strong leadership, organization, planning and time management skills. • Strong personal computer skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio). • Excellent verbal and written communication skills. • Excellent interpersonal skills. • Training experience. • Demonstrated problem solving skills. • Technical competence in appropriate health care provider areas. • Supervisory experience or training 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.