Registered Nurse (RN) Scheduler - Operating Room

The RN Operating Room Scheduler is a licensed registered nurse who coordinates and manages surgical scheduling for inpatient, outpatient, and ambulatory procedures. This role ensures timely, accurate, and efficient scheduling while maintaining compliance with clinical protocols and patient safety standards. The RN leverages clinical judgment and critical thinking to optimize surgical workflows and enhance communication between clinic schedulers, providers, and surgical teams.

Essential Job Statements

Review patient charts and clinical documentation to assess readiness and appropriateness for surgery. Schedule inpatient, outpatient, and ambulatory surgical procedures based on physician orders, patient condition, and operating room availability. Ensure alignment with clinical protocols, resource capacity, and patient safety standards.

 Proactively identify surgical cases appropriate for robotic-assisted procedures by reviewing patient charts, surgeon preferences, and clinical criteria. Collaborate with surgical teams to coordinate available robotic block time, ensuring optimal utilization of robotic systems. Balance scheduling needs between robotic and non-robotic cases to maximize operating room efficiency, reduce downtime, and support strategic growth in minimally invasive surgical services.

Establish and maintain strong working relationships with surgeons, anesthesiologists, perioperative nurses, and administrative staff to ensure seamless coordination of surgical logistics. Act as a central point of communication to align scheduling priorities, anticipate resource needs, and resolve conflicts. Collaborate closely with surgical teams to understand their preferences and procedural patterns, enabling strategic optimization of block time and improved operating room utilization.

Manage cancellations, reschedules, and urgent add-ons while notifying all affected parties promptly. Backfill with appropriate patients and procedures.

Assist in the orientation and ongoing training of new and existing scheduling staff, ensuring familiarity with surgical protocols, scheduling systems, and departmental workflows. Share clinical insights to enhance team understanding of procedure requirements, patient preparation, and interdepartmental coordination. Participate in process improvement initiatives and help identify training needs to promote efficiency, accuracy, and professional growth within the scheduling team.

Support the Scheduling and Optimization Manager in the development, review, and revision of scheduling policies and procedures to ensure alignment with clinical standards, regulatory requirements, and operational goals. Provide frontline insights to help shape best practices for surgical scheduling, block utilization, patient preparation, and interdepartmental coordination. Collaborate with nursing leadership and surgical services to identify gaps, recommend improvements, and support implementation of updated protocols.

Collect, review, and analyze scheduling data to identify trends, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement in surgical operations. Monitor key performance indicators such as block utilization, first-case on-time starts, cancellation rates, and case volume distribution. Use data insights to support decision-making, optimize scheduling practices, and contribute to strategic planning initiatives. Collaborate with perioperative leadership to present findings and recommend actionable solutions that enhance patient flow, resource allocation, and overall surgical throughput.

Patient Population: Demonstrates the knowledge and skills necessary to provide equitable care appropriate to the age of the patients served on their assigned unit.  Demonstrates knowledge and related competencies of the principles of growth and development of the life span and possesses the ability to assess data reflective of the patient's status and interprets the appropriate information needed to identify each patient's requirements relative to  their age, specific needs and to provide the equitable care needed as described in departmental policies and procedures. Neonates (0-4 weeks), Infant (1-12 months), Pediatrics (1-12 years), Adolescents (13-17 years), Adults (18-64 years), Geriatrics (65 years and older)

Employment Qualifications

Required Education: Associate’s degree in Nursing/ AN

Preferred Education: Bachelors degree in Nursing/ BSN

Licensing/ Certification

Licensure/Certification Required: Current active nursing license

Licensure/Certification Preferred: CNOR

Minimum Qualifications

Years and Type of Required Experience Required: 2 years’ operating room experience

Preferred: Previous surgeon clinic nursing or paranesthesia experience preferred Level 1 teaching hospital preferred

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required: Excellent customer service skills, ability to read and interpret MD notes, Strong understanding of medical terminology, surgical procedures, and patient care workflows

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred: EPIC, Excel, Tableau

Working Conditions: Periods of high stress and fluctuating workloads may occur. General office environment. May have periods of constant interruptions. Prolonged periods of working alone.

Physical Requirements

Physical Demands: N/A

Work Position: Sitting

Additional Physical Requirements/ Hazards

Physical Requirements: Repetitive arm/hand movements

Hazards: N/A

Mental/Sensory – Emotional  

Mental / Sensory: Strong Recall, Reasoning, Problem Solving, Hearing, Speak Clearly, Write Legibly, Reading, Logical Thinking

Emotional: Fast pace environment, Steady Pace, Able to Handle Multiple Priorities, Frequent and Intense Customer Interactions, Able to Adapt to Frequent Change 
 

EEO Employer/Disabled/Protected Veteran