Patient Experience Specialist

At Houston Methodist, the Patient Experience Specialist position is responsible for design, implementation, and evaluation of tools, products, processes/tactics to enhance the patient experience. Responsibilities for this position include, but are not limited to, rounding, reporting, staff coaching and training, and unit assessments. The Patient Experience Specialist position will recommend appropriate interventions designed to meet specific patient experience targets and objectives and will prioritize areas of need within the hospital with guidance from local and system leadership. This position will also support the facilitation of performance improvement processes to support continuous improvement in the provision of safe, quality patient care and will work in collaboration with the system patient experience resources to identify and recommend best practices.

FLSA STATUS
Exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)
• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business administration, or health sciences field preferred

EXPERIENCE

• Two years of experience in a healthcare, medical research, or academic setting with an emphasis on project management experience

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Excellent time management skills and ability to work with multiple time-critical priorities
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook)

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Maintains familiarity with the work of clinical staff, physicians, and administration to successfully identify appropriate contacts for project monitoring and data collection.
• Effectively communicates with key contacts to obtain information that relates to strategic initiatives as highlighted by site and system patient experience leadership.
• Promotes a positive work environment and contributes to a dynamic, team focused work unit that actively helps one another to achieve optimal department results. Collaborates with all members of the patient care team by actively communicating and reporting pertinent patient care information and data in a comprehensive manner.
• Contributes towards improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i.e. peer-to-peer accountability.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Participates on committees and task forces as assigned, ensuring that critical objectives are clearly explained, and action items are appropriately delegated. Follows-up on action items as necessary to ensure completion of assignments.
• Partners with clinical and non-clinical areas to develop department-specific programs to sustain a culture of ICARE values, safety and personalized service supporting standardization of the Houston Methodist Experience.
• Provides coaching and training on best practices consistent with handling of patients concerns; coordinates improvement initiatives resulting in enhanced organization/ system’s image.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Composes meeting minutes for committees and department meetings as assigned.
• Maintains associated project tracking and accountability systems, creates files, and develops effective presentation tools and/or reports for significant activities. Utilizes technology resources to conduct research for assigned projects.
• Facilitates performance improvement initiatives and patient satisfaction best practices in collaboration with system patient experience resources.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Helps minimize excess cost(s) by assisting and recommending solutions in achieving departmental objectives.
• Utilizes resources with cost effectiveness and value creation in mind. Self-motivated to independently manage time effectively and prioritize daily tasks, assisting coworkers as needed.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Represents the Houston Methodist Experience before hospital and professional entities and develops positive working relationships.
• Support system innovative and technology indicatives and processes to improve patient experience outcomes.
• Participates in special projects and department initiatives and seeks opportunities to identify self-development needs and takes appropriate action. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates the My Development Plan on an on-going basis.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: No
• Scrubs: No
• Business professional: Yes
• Other (department approved): No

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area No
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area No

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)
• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business administration, or health sciences field preferred

EXPERIENCE

• Two years of experience in a healthcare, medical research, or academic setting with an emphasis on project management experience