Unit Clerk – Hospital (Casual)

St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph; Guelph; On-site; CAD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph is seeking an Unit Clerk to support a busy hospital unit with clerical duties, patient data coordination, and team communication. The role emphasizes confidentiality, efficiency, and teamwork in a patient-centered environment.

Responsibilities include handling admissions/discharges, maintaining records, and ensuring messages reach the right staff, all while upholding SJHCG values and patient safety guidelines.

Qualifications

• Post secondary diploma or certificate from a recognized administrative program or equivalent.
• Knowledge of medical terminology.
• Minimum one (1) year recent clerical experience in a health care setting preferred.
• Demonstrated computer skills with Microsoft Office 365.
• Demonstrated superior written and verbal communication skills, and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide clerical support to maintain an organized healthcare environment.
• Answer telephone calls and field questions from patients, visitors, staff.
• Organize admissions and discharges as directed by the interdisciplinary team.
• Maintain patient records and ensure accurate data and messaging.

Skills

Medical terminology

Clerical skills

Microsoft Office 365

Communication skills

Customer service

Time management

Education

Post secondary diploma or certificate in administrative program

Tools

MS Office

Job description

The Unit Clerk is required to perform their duties in a manner that is consistent with the organization’s mission, vision and values. The Unit Clerk requires a high level of efficiency, organization, confidentiality and time management skills which are essential to carrying out the duties of this position. The Unit Clerk will provide clerical support to maintain a progressive, efficient, organized healthcare environment that further enhances the patient and staff experience. The Unit Clerk operates, maintains and orders different types of office and clinical equipment and supplies for hospital units.

Key Accountabilities

• Performs all duties in accordance with the Mission Statement and policies and procedures of St. Joseph’s Health Centre, and the Ministry of Health for Long Term Care guidelines.
• Demonstrates competency skills for the following standards and indicators:
• Preserving the individuality of patients
• Encountering patients in a caring way
• Maximizing the individual’s participation and control
• Communicating with patients/families, staff, and other visitors in a timely, courteous, and helpful manner
• Contributing to and utilizing the patient plan of care if appropriate
• Establishing and Maintaining Healthy Interpersonal Relationships
• Demonstrating enthusiasm for working with adults and their families
• Developing and preserving collaborative relationships among all members of the health care team and with other programs/departments
• Complies with patient safety programs, policies and processes including identifying and reporting adverse events/near misses
• Attends and participates in appropriate safety training or education updates (ie. hand hygiene, emergency code reviews)
• Identifies unsafe conditions or practices and takes appropriate action to address them including reporting or removing hazards
• Maintaining Professionalism and Work Role Competencies
• Attending and participating in suitable educational in-services
• Demonstrating professionalism
• Providing services in an effective manner
• Participating in research and continuous quality improvement activities
• Working with the Interdisciplinary team to coordinate and organize day to day activities on the unit
• Responsible to answer telephone calls and fielding questions from patients, visitors, staff, volunteers.
• Ensuring that information and messages are forwarded to the appropriate people. Uses judgment in interrupting for urgent inquiries
• Responsible for organizing patient admissions on the direction of the Interdisciplinary team. This includes communication with business office; assigning an appropriate room based on insurance and patient needs; communication and faxing of information required from referring partners; photocopying of admission packages; chart assembly; completion patient armbands and signs for room door and dining room tables
• Responsible for organizing patient discharges/deaths on the direction of the Interdisciplinary team. This includes communication with Business Office; dismantling charts for Medical Records; faxing required information to Family Physicians and other community partners
• Monitoring of stationary supplies and re-ordering as necessary
• Filing of patient forms and reports in the correct health record after they have been reviewed by the appropriate health professional
• Maintaining patient filing system that facilitates accuracy and organization
• Photocopying and faxing of forms and correspondence
• Distributing mail and correspondence
• Communicate via telephone broadcast or email change in patient condition as required
• May assist in the completion of Physician/NP patient care orders in collaboration with team leader or nurse processing order e.g. requisitions for scheduled lab tests ordered, communication with interdisciplinary team as required; faxing appropriate information as required; informing interdisciplinary team members/physicians of consultations required etc.
• Working together with the interdisciplinary team and families to identify transportation needs and booking appropriate transportation as required e.g. family car, wheelchair taxi, stretcher, volunteer van etc.
• Maintaining lists required for communicating and collecting patient data – patient boards, etc.
• Coordinating/ordering specialty mattress and other supplies. Collaborates with RN or NP
• Organizing staff replacement as required when scheduler unavailable e.g. sick calls, transportation escorts, extra staff, education replacement etc.
• Working together with the Interdisciplinary team to ensure the admission and discharge MDS/NRS data is completed as expected including pulling charts from medical records
• Other duties as assigned
• Covers other units as needed
• Contributes to a transparent culture of client and staff safety by adhering to and abiding by patient and staff safety policies and procedures set by SJHCG.
• Promotes an environment that encourages and supports change using change leadership theory.

Qualifications & Experience

• Post secondary diploma or certificate from a recognized administrative program or equivalent required.
• Knowledge of medical terminology required.
• Minimum one (1) years recent clerical experience in a health care setting preferred
• Demonstrated computer skills with knowledge of Microsoft Office 365
• Demonstrated superior written and verbal communication skills, and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Consistently demonstrates efficient problem solving
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize required.
• Excellent customer service skills, telephone etiquette and demonstrates SJHCG core values
• Strong organizational, time-management, critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Ability to function as a team member in a collaborative environment required.
• Ability to accept direction and work independently required.

Disclaimers

St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph is an equal opportunity employer and strives for equity, inclusiveness, and diversity in all programs, facilities, and people. St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph is committed to creating a barrier-free, accessible organization, and will work to accommodate any needs under the Accessibility for Ontario for Disabilities Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code. Should any applicant require accommodation through the application process, please contact Human Resources at [e-mail] for assistance. If the applicant requires a specific accommodation because of a disability during an interview, the applicant will need to advise the hiring manager when scheduling the interview and the appropriate accommodations can be made.

St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph (SJHCG) does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to screen, evaluate, or select applicants for this position.

Recruitment Process Integrity

To support fairness, confidentiality, and an equitable recruitment process, applicants are kindly asked not to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools, and not to record, transcribe, encrypt, or otherwise capture interviews at any stage of the recruitment process, unless explicitly authorized by the organization.

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only candidates under consideration will be contacted.