Nurse Navigator/RN, Spinal Deformity Program

Piedmont; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Piedmont Atlanta Hospital's Atlanta Brain and Spine Care seeks an experienced Registered Nurse to serve as the clinical coordinator for its adult spinal deformity program. This newly created role provides autonomy in building a regional referral program, coordinating care from referral through post-operative follow-up.

The RN Clinical Coordinator will oversee pre-operative optimization, perioperative liaison, patient education, and care coordination across multiple sites and specialties,

Qualifications

• BSN required.
• GA RN licensure or current multistate license.
• Three years RN experience preferred.
• Experience in spine, orthopedic, neurosurgery, perioperative, or surgical specialty care preferred.
• Current BLS certification.

Responsibilities

• Screen new patient referrals and triage clinical urgency; route to appropriate surgeon.
• Coordinate scheduling of new and return consultations with attention to urgent cases.
• Order and review pre-operative tests; ensure timely results and clearance.
• Develop and manage pre-operative optimization pathways (bone health, nutrition, glycemic control, smoking cessation).
• Coordinate co-surgeon, vascular access, neuromonitoring, and staged-procedure logistics as needed.
• Facilitate insurance authorization and assemble documentation for medical necessity and appeals.
• Prepare charts, imaging, and planning materials for upcoming cases.
• Provide structured pre-operative education to patients and families on diagnosis, plan, and recovery.
• Coordinate transitions of care post-discharge with home health and rehab services.
• Develop and update clinical protocols and staff education for the deformity program.

Skills

RN experience

Spine/Orthopedic care

Perioperative care

Nursing leadership

BLS certified

Education

BSN

GA RN license or compact

Tools

Epic

Job description

Atlanta Brain and Spine Care | Piedmont Atlanta Hospital

Working Title: RN Clinical Coordinator, Spinal Deformity Program

Department: Atlanta Brain and Spine Care (Neurosurgery / Orthopedic Spine)

Status: Full Time | Exempt

Reports To: Practice Administrator, Atlanta Brain and Spine Care, with clinical direction from the Spinal Deformity Program surgeons

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Position Summary

Atlanta Brain and Spine Care is seeking an experienced Registered Nurse to serve as the clinical coordinator for its adult spinal deformity program at Piedmont Atlanta. This is a newly created role supporting a fellowship-trained deformity surgery practice performing complex reconstructive spine surgery, including multilevel fusion, osteotomy, revision, and adult degenerative and idiopathic scoliosis correction.

The RN Clinical Coordinator functions as the single clinical point of contact across the deformity patient's episode of care — from referral intake and pre-operative medical and bone health optimization, through the perioperative period, to structured post-operative follow-up. The role combines direct nursing practice, care coordination across multiple sites and specialties, patient and family education, and protocol development.

This position offers meaningful autonomy and the opportunity to help build a regional referral program from its foundation.

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Key Responsibilities

Referral Intake and Access

• Screen new patient referrals and inbound calls; triage clinical urgency and route appropriately.
• Request and obtain outside records, operative reports, and advanced imaging in advance of consultation; ensure studies are loaded and available for surgeon review.
• Coordinate scheduling of new and return consultations, ensuring urgent and emergent presentations are accommodated appropriately.
• Serve as liaison to referring physician offices; support referral relationship development and closed-loop communication back to referring providers.

Surgical Coordination and Pre-Operative Optimization

• Coordinate surgical dates between surgeon, patient, and surgical scheduler; manage rescheduling and prioritization of urgent cases.
• Order, track, and review pre-operative testing; report abnormal results to the provider and ensure resolution prior to surgery.
• Manage pre-operative optimization pathways specific to deformity surgery, including bone health assessment (DEXA, vitamin D, endocrine and osteoanabolic referral), nutritional and glycemic optimization, smoking cessation, anemia and patient blood management, and medical and anesthesia clearance.
• Coordinate co-surgeon, vascular access, neuromonitoring, and staged-procedure logistics as indicated.
• Facilitate insurance authorization in partnership with the authorization team; assemble clinical documentation supporting medical necessity and appeals.
• Prepare charts, imaging, and surgical planning materials for upcoming cases.

Patient and Family Education

• Provide structured pre-operative education covering diagnosis, deformity pathology, surgical plan, expected recovery trajectory, and realistic functional outcomes.
• Set expectations regarding length of stay, mobilization, activity restrictions, brace or orthosis use, and disposition planning.
• Review post-operative discharge instructions, including wound care, drain management, pain management, and bowel regimen.

Perioperative and Inpatient Liaison

• Serve as liaison in the pre-operative and recovery room settings on surgical days, coordinating with perioperative staff and the surgical team.
• Interface with hospitalists, advanced practice providers, physical and occupational therapy, case management, and nursing units to support the inpatient plan of care.
• Support ERAS and early mobilization pathway adherence; escalation barriers to progression proactively.
• Partner with case management and the surgical team to support timely, safe discharge and reduce avoidable excess days.
• Support accurate clinical documentation in collaboration with CDI to reflect patient acuity and comorbidity burden.

Post-Operative and Longitudinal Care

• Manage post-operative inbasket, telephone, and portal communication; independently triage wound, pain, neurologic, and medication concerns per established protocols.
• Coordinate transitions of care across settings, including home health, skilled nursing, inpatient rehabilitation, and visiting nurse referrals.
• Track post-operative imaging, follow-up intervals, and radiographic surveillance for fusion and alignment.

Program Development

• Develop, maintain, and update clinical protocols, patient education materials, and standard work for the deformity program.
• Educate practice and hospital staff on program protocols and post-surgical precautions.
• Participate in quality improvement initiatives and program performance review.

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• Graduate of an accredited school of nursing. BSN required.
• Three (3) years of registered nursing experience preferred.
• Experience in spine, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, perioperative, or surgical specialty care strongly preferred.

Required Licensure / Certification

• Current Registered Nurse licensure in the State of Georgia, or a current multistate RN license from a Nurse Licensure Compact state.
• Current BLS certification.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in complex spine, spinal deformity, or high-acuity surgical subspecialty practice.
• Experience with surgical scheduling, pre-operative optimization pathways, or insurance authorization for complex surgical procedures.
• Familiarity with Epic.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously, build workflows in a developing program, and communicate effectively with patients, families, and referring providers.

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Position Highlights

• Newly created role within a growing regional spinal deformity referral program.
• Direct, daily collaboration with fellowship-trained deformity surgeons.
• High degree of clinical autonomy and ownership over program design and standard work.
• Complex, high-acuity patient population with meaningful longitudinal relationships.