Authorization Coach

Donor Network West’s mission is to save and heal lives through organ and tissue donation for transplantation and research.

At Donor Network West, we're looking for people who embody our core values: passion, excellence, equity and inclusion, and relationships. We welcome diverse perspectives and foster an environment of collaboration and service.

Position Summary: The Authorization Coach (On-Call) is responsible for all organ and tissue pre- and post-family approach activities to support coaching and debriefing. The Authorization Coach will guide services related to the Family Care Department. This position will foster, promote, and sustain cross-departmental collaboration in support of optimal donation and family support outcomes. On-call duties are required. This is a great opportunity to serve as a lifeline to those on the transplant waiting list! The Authorization Coach position is a remote position; however, travel for in-person meetings and training will be required.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Coaching and Support: Coaches frontline team members by providing consistent, evidence-based critical thinking and decision support while considering appropriate resource management decisions. Provides thorough, in-depth guidance utilizing highly developed clinical expertise and advanced knowledge of the organ donation process.
• Mentorship and Training: Problem solves with Family Services team members. Advises staff when working through operational challenges by providing mentoring, talking points, coaching, and on-site support. Communicates deviations from standard behavior and/or practices to the appropriate manager for follow-up. Assists with training, development, and educational initiatives.
• Resource Management: Maintains an awareness of all active referrals and pending activity to ensure optimal use of available resources. Ensures consistent application and compliance with regulatory standards/requirements as well as organizational policies and procedures.
• Performance Improvement: Participates in performance improvement initiatives, identifying trends, and supporting formal staff education needs including involvement in regular case activity review process. Assists with data collection, analysis, and shares best practices for presentation and education during Case Review Meetings.
• Authorization and Documentation: Assists with search efforts to identify legal next of kin (LNOK), verifying donor registries, and obtaining authorization for donation. Escalates to senior leadership when UAGA challenges arise. Closely monitors both organizational and team member authorization rates and identifies both trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Family Interaction: Initiates the donation discussion and authorization process for potential organ and tissue donor families prior to, during, and after death declaration. Provides families with detailed information required to give legal informed authorization for anatomical donation. Responds on-site independently and/or in conjunction with assigned staff to all appropriate hospital referrals within the designated time outlined per policy and procedure.
• Collaboration: Communicates with the attending physician and other members of the healthcare team to establish rapport and ensure a collaborative planned approach for the donation discussion and authorization process. Collaborates with hospital staff to provide potential donor families with accurate and timely information regarding the patient’s current clinical course.
• Bereavement Support: Provides bereavement support answers questions and provides care to both donor and non-donor families as applicable. Completes calls during the donation process (daily update call post OR call) when the onsite Clinical Coordinator requests assistance or when appropriate.

Authorization Coach:

• Builds positive professional relationships with all DNWest’s teams while maintaining and promoting DNWest’s culture.
• Represents organ and tissue donation equally.
• Possesses strong interpersonal skills with an ability to work effectively with all stakeholders, particularly with medical professionals and donor families.
• Manages highly stressful situations in a calm and professional manner by using sufficient judgment and discretion at all times.
• Ability to productively work independently and as a team participant. Accountable to the team and works with the team to meet DNWest’s strategic goals.
• Presents feedback effectively, maintaining positive relationships and utilizing customer service skills.
• Maintains personal/professional balance; works toward resiliency.
• Maintains authorization rate for the organization within acceptable best practice expectations.

Onsite Presence:

• Secures and maintains positive hospital leadership, physician, nurse, and ancillary care staff relationships.
• Able to share action plans with DNWest and hospital teams.
• Maintains a supportive onsite presence as appropriate.
• Provides conflict resolution.
• Utilizes critical thinking skills in the moment to achieve the desired end result.

Assessment and Planning:

• Visually assesses donors, interpret charts, document information, and communicates findings.
• Communicates and collaborates with the attending physician and other members of the healthcare team to establish rapport, provide education on the benefits of donation, and ensure a collaborative planned approach for the donation discussion and authorization process.
• Maintains communication with hospital staff and attending physician regarding the potential donor family’s understanding of the prognosis and acts as a family advocate to the health care team as necessary.

Donation Discussion and Family Support:

• Facilitates the donation discussion and authorization process using the Dual Advocacy Fundamentals for potential organ and tissue donor families prior to, during, and after death declaration.
• Provides donation discussion core elements effectively, advocates for donation, and accurately completes authorization documentation.
• Utilizes the Dual Advocacy fundamentals.
• Accesses all pertinent donor registries and assesses for a Document of Gift.
• Able to complete all required documentation and authorization forms.
• Effectively guides and documents the Donor Risk Assessment Interview.
• Assists with the bereavement support, answers questions, and provides care to both donor and non-donor families as applicable.
• Completes calls during the donation process (daily update call post OR call) when the onsite Clinical Coordinator requests assistance or when appropriate.

Qualifications:

• Possess knowledge of medical and legal principles of authorization, donor evaluation, and management.
• Has the ability to communicate and present information effectively and concisely within a team environment.
• Has the ability to work productively both independently and as a team participant with accountability to all other team members.
• Proactive team player who must uphold the core values of the organization, which include passion, integrity, and teamwork.
• Has strong conflict management skills as well as excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Multi-lingual skills are beneficial. The most common languages spoken are Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Vietnamese.
• Compassionate, conscientious, and ethical, and must possess strong interpersonal skills which will allow her/him to deal effectively with conflict resolution, donor families in crisis, individuals or groups, and a variety of medical professionals.
• Able to work productively both independently and as a team participant with accountability to all other team members for meeting agreed upon objectives.
• Maintain strong organizational skills that will allow him/her to assess changing environments, establish appropriate priorities, handle highly stressful situations in a calm mature manner using sufficient judgment and discretion at all times.
• This individual must also provide accurate assessments of job performance and recommend changes in policies, procedures, strategies, and action plans.
• Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adjusts to new priorities as required.

Education and Experience:

• A degree in biological sciences or social sciences or an equivalent degree/diploma/certification as a Counselor or allied health field; or 5-year equivalent Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) experience required.
• At least 5-7 years of experience in working with families, counseling, bereavement, and/or crisis intervention preferred.
• At least 3 years experience working for an Organ Procurement Organization required.

Provided compensation data is subject to change based on location and work status. Salary data provided by third party sites do not accurately reflect our pay structure.