Health Unit Coordinator (Unit Secretary, Unit Clerk) Recruiters
Healthcare Headhunters recruits healthcare professionals for employers. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
Hiring a health unit coordinator means finding someone who keeps unit information moving without confusing clerical responsibility with clinical authority.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
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What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
What does an open seat cost you every week?
An open role costs you more than the recruiting fee. Someone covers the work, waits for care, or stops a service. We ask what is falling behind and who is carrying it. Use your own figures to compare the cost of waiting with the cost of hiring.
The seat is costing you every week.
Overtime, diverted patients, a stretched team and a schedule held together by favors.
The posting brought the wrong people.
Applicants arrive, but the person who has done this exact work is employed and not looking.
You are the one chasing.
Screening calls, no-shows and follow-ups land on the desk of someone with a facility to run.
What does this hire really come down to?
A unit secretary or unit clerk answers calls, tracks messages, maintains records, and supports admission, transfer, and discharge paperwork. The title alone tells you little about the desk assignment. We help you define the actual work, then screen candidates against the interruptions, systems, and handoffs your unit expects.
Start with what happens when several requests reach the desk together. A nurse may need a message delivered while transport asks about a transfer and a family member requests information.
Separate clerical order processing from clinical interpretation. If your coordinator routes orders, schedules tests, or updates tracking screens, describe exactly which actions the role permits. A confident answer is not enough if it crosses that boundary.
We arrange locum tenens, travel and contract coverage on request. Credentialing, licensing and malpractice coverage are confirmed per engagement before anyone starts.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Message handling: Ask, "How would you handle an incoming provider call while a visitor is waiting?" Look for identification of the caller, accurate message details, appropriate routing, and a way to track whether the message reached its recipient. Patient identification: Ask, "What do you check before attaching paperwork or entering information into a chart?"
- A useful answer describes matching identifiers, checking the record, and stopping when details conflict rather than guessing from room numbers.
- Admissions and transfers: Ask, "What clerical tasks did you complete when a patient moved between units?" Listen for specific record updates, packet preparation, communication with receiving staff, and clear limits on confirming clinical readiness.
- Confidentiality at the desk: Ask, "What would you do if someone requested information about a patient by telephone?" Look for the facility's verification process, limits on disclosure, and referral to an authorized staff member when needed.
- Computer and terminology skills: Ask, "Which charting screens, scheduling tools, and medical terms did you use daily?" Have candidates describe an actual clerical task. Familiar software names do not prove accurate entry, retrieval, or correction habits.
- Unfinished work: Ask, "How do you hand over pending calls, transport requests, and incomplete paperwork?" Strong answers describe a readable task record, named recipients, unresolved items, and a direct handoff rather than relying on memory.
Where do we find them, and why would they move?
We look at candidates from hospital nursing units, emergency department desks, inpatient rehabilitation units, and other patient support offices. We check whether their desk work involved tracking patient arrivals, routing calls to nursing staff, or preparing records for transfer. Potential reasons for a move include a different shift pattern, a shorter commute, or a preference for another unit setting.
A hospital unit clerk may know transfer paperwork, while an outpatient secretary may bring scheduling experience but need instruction in inpatient communication.
We ask what the candidate wants to change and compare that answer with your desk assignment. Moving from a quiet office to an interruption-heavy unit deserves a direct conversation.
Which mistakes stall the search?
A common mistake is treating receptionist experience as proof of unit readiness. Ask about chart access, medical terminology, and communication with nursing staff before assuming those skills transfer. Another is leaving duties open-ended. State whether the coordinator handles supplies, test scheduling, transport requests, or clerical order routing, and identify who resolves conflicting instructions.
Ignoring desk coverage during breaks and shift changes. Explain who receives calls when the coordinator leaves and how pending tasks pass between staff.
How would we run the search for this opening?
We discuss your unit type, shift pattern, reporting line, systems, and recurring clerical tasks. We screen work history, stated credentials, and fit through task-based questions. You compare shortlisted candidates' message records, chart identification checks, and handoff notes against your unit's desk procedures.
Define the desk assignment
You identify duties reserved for licensed staff and any education or certificate preferences. A health unit coordinator certificate should not become a mandatory screen unless your facility makes it one.
Screen against daily work
You complete your own credentialing and assessment of unit-specific skills. A short clerical exercise can test message accuracy, chart identification, and handoff notes without asking candidates to make clinical decisions.
Compare candidates and hire
Discuss which candidates recognize conflicting instructions and refer clinical questions to licensed staff, then identify gaps that need orientation before choosing whom to hire. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
Where this search connects
Medical Assistants, Nutrition & Patient Support
SpecialtyMedical Assistant (CMA, RMA, CCMA, Clinical MA)
Related roleOphthalmic Technician (Ophthalmic Assistant, COA, COT, COMT)
Related roleRegistered Dietitian (RD, RDN)
Related roleCertified Diabetes Care & Education Specialist (CDCES, Diabetes Educator)
Related roleNational median annual wage. SOC 43-6013, Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants.
BLS reports Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants as one occupation. It does not publish a separate estimate for Health Unit Coordinator (Unit Secretary, Unit Clerk), its setting or its engagement terms.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025-05, released 2026-05-15. View source. See the full guide.
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Should we require prior experience with our electronic record?
That depends on your training resources and the tasks assigned. Ask candidates to explain comparable screens and error correction before treating a different system as disqualifying. Candidates should explain when they stop and ask a licensed clinician. Ask candidates how they identify the right recipient, record pending work, and avoid answering questions outside their authority.
Are unit secretary and health unit coordinator interchangeable titles?
They can describe similar work, but duties vary by employer. Compare the desk assignment, chart access, and communication responsibilities rather than relying on the title.
How should we assess a coordinator for an overnight shift?
Describe the support available overnight and the calls the desk receives. Ask how candidates obtain help and document unresolved requests when fewer office staff are present.
Can this role answer families' clinical questions?
The coordinator should route clinical questions to the appropriate licensed staff member. Your interview should test that boundary alongside courteous reception and accurate message taking.
What should we check if the role includes supply ordering?
Ask how candidates track stock, record requests, and follow purchasing approvals. Clarify who approves substitutions so clerical ordering does not become an unsupported clinical decision.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
Tell us which unit needs desk support, which shifts need coverage, and what the coordinator will handle. We can build the search around those duties.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
Which other positions in this family should you consider?
What do you get at each step of the search?
Our process for every search: calibrate the seat with you, map the market, research the real people, reach out to each one personally, qualify them in live conversation, then hand you a short list with a written brief on each person and support through the offer.
Search Calibration
You get an agreed brief: the work, reporting line, credentials, schedule, and offer you can make.
Market Mapping
You get a search aimed at relevant backgrounds, including people working now who have not applied.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We check appropriate ways to reach the people identified for your search. You do not have to chase them yourself.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We explain your actual job and follow up with people who may consider a conversation.
Live Candidate Qualification
You see people we have spoken with about the work, interest, and practical fit, not an unread resume pile.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get a written brief and support through interviews and offer discussions. You make the hiring decision.
How long will it take to see a short list?
That depends on the job, schedule, available people, and what your employer can offer. We discuss those constraints before outreach and update you as candidates respond. We do not promise a fixed shortlist date. We check the job brief before arranging interviews. Tell us which parts of the role you can change.
What if a candidate receives a counteroffer?
We ask why the person wants to move and discuss competing decisions before an offer. A counteroffer can still change their choice. Keep the duties and offer clear rather than assuming more money settles every concern. Tell us early if parts of your offer cannot change, so the candidate hears it from us first.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. Ask us to walk through those terms before you sign, so you know how a replacement would work for your opening and who would start it.
What do we not do in a standard permanent search?
We do not bill standard contingency search by the hour or simply repost your job. Temporary coverage is a separate arrangement. Any retainer or different engagement must be agreed, not assumed. Tell us early if you need coverage while the permanent search runs.