Communications Switchboard Operator

Major Responsibilities

• Ensure effective and efficient operation of paging system, AmCom.
• Answering Service, Alcatel communication systems, and other department related equipment (fax, printers, computer, etc.).
• Process calls:
  • Process incoming calls for patients, staff, physicians, and public in a courteous and professional manner.
  • Process outgoing calls for staff and physicians in a courteous and professional manner.
  • Process incoming and outgoing calls on the Doctors Answering Service. Perform board checks to ensure a timely delivery of all messages (physician and office).
  • Record and transmit messages for physicians and office personnel on the Doctors Answering Service.
  • Enter pager blocks for physicians.
• Enter physician vacation time and on-call information immediately whether on exception scheduler or Remarks.
• Assist callers:
  • Assist patients, staff, and physicians in placing outgoing calls in a courteous and professional manner.
  • Place long distance calls for staff/adminstration in a courteous and professional manner.
  • Report all telephone equipment issues to Telecommunications Analyst by way of the Help desk.
  • Report internal specific phone trouble to repair service to the Telecommunications analysts by way of the Help desk.
  • Assist in replacement service of patient telephones.
• Ensure the code team is dispatched following hospital protocol.
• Notify Cardiac Cath Lab of emergency procedures to be performed on off hours.
• Dispatch cardiac code team for Code Blue’s, processing through amcom paging terminal, and announcing over the intercom system. Notify Emergency department when a house doctor isn't available.
• Ensure accuracy in department procedure during external/internal disasters.
• Monitor bomb threat calls (i.e., taking notes, e.g., time, male/female, tone of voice, accent, etc.).
• Make appropriate notifications immediately following a bomb threat.
• Make appropriate notifications for external/internal disasters and accurately log events as they occur.
• Make appropriate notifications when fire alarm is activated.
• Make appropriate notifications upon receiving a statement of severe weather.
• Make appropriate notifications upon receiving a statement of disturbance in progress.
• Conduct a wide range of paging functions.
• Swap out faulty pager equipment for staff/physicians by using telephone# to American Messaging listed in Amcom.
• Log all information on pager swaps in pager log book accurately and in a timely manner.
• Page physicians, staff, and family members of patients via public address system and house pagers, and page physicians long range when requested by staff.
• Make public address announcements for department meetings and special events, when requested.
• Make public address announcements for all emergency situations.
• Monitor various alarm systems.
• Monitor all hospital building fire alarms, blood bank refrigerator, medical gas alarms, dietary etc.
• Provide accurate information to patients, staff, physicians, and the public, as requested.
• Make appropriate notifications for patient expirations.
• Take messages for physicians, administration, managers, as a courtesy, when necessary.
• Accurately provide various general information to patients, staff, physicians, and the public, including, but not limited to; patient room numbers by referring to the AmCom computer system, physician office and service telephone numbers, visiting hours, hospital and professional building addresses, specific department and/or extension numbers to call for specific information or complaints, phone operation and paging instructions, pager numbers, by referring to directories or computer terminal.
• Maintain department logs for various department procedures, equipment/pagers/keys that Telecommunications releases for use by hospital staff.
• Maintain house physician’s pagers, keys for Telecommunications equipment room and physician’s call room, and register for sign out and return of all the aforementioned for referral, and to insure accountability for unreturned pagers and/or keys.
• Maintain accurate information in department logs for replacement of patient phones, hard of hearing phones, TDD Units.
• Document all emergency information, as received.
• Maintain accurate log of…