7 Key Patient Flow Coordinator Interview Questions to Ask

Adding a capable patient flow coordinator (PFC) to your healthcare team could increase the productivity of your organization. Whether your aim is hiring a nurse for your emergency department leadership team or filling a “traffic controller” type of position in your command center, you’ve already identified a need. Asking a mix of thoughtful patient flow coordinator interview questions will help you fill your open position with an employee who will thrive in the role.

This article will give you seven key questions to ask your flow coordinator candidates. We’ll break down the reasoning behind each one, so that you know how to make customizations that align your facility’s PFC job description. We’ll also give you tips about what to listen for in candidate responses and ideas for follow-up inquiries.

Before you sit down with an interviewee, download our free, printable PFC candidate evaluation template so that you’re ready to take notes. If you’re hiring for multiple positions, take advantage of our collection of interview questions that are tailored to specific healthcare roles.

7 Essential Patient Flow Coordinator Interview Questions

As you get ready to interview PFC candidates, familiarize yourself (and your hiring team) with the scope of the role. If this position is new for your organization, some recruiters may be wondering, What does a patient flow coordinator do?

There’s a lot of variety in the PFC role across care settings, so you’ll need to rely on the specifics that your organization has defined. In an emergency department (ED), a PFC may work closely with other department leaders to facilitate efficient throughput. If hired to oversee patient flow throughout an entire hospital, the position may involve collaborating with hospital executives to strategically manage capacity and work toward operational and financial goals.

Once you and your team have a thorough understanding of how the new hire will be expected to contribute, you’ll be ready to engage in productive conversations with your candidates. Here are seven important patient flow coordinator interview questions, and answers to listen for, that will help you discover top applicants.

1. How have your past leadership experiences prepared you for the flow coordinator role at our facility?

Patient flow coordinators are typically “take-charge” individuals who can lead teams toward greater efficiency. Learning about your candidate’s unique leadership experiences will help you better understand their career path and the strengths they possess. This question invites your candidate to discuss prior managerial or supervisory roles, and provides a relatively easy start to your dialogue.

What to listen for:

• Prior leadership experience in a related healthcare setting (i.e., a critical care environment, if hiring for an ED)
• Proven aptitude for managing complex clinical systems

Potential follow up questions:

• Can you tell me about a time when you stepped into a challenging new leadership position? How did you handle it?
• How would you describe your leadership style?

2. Tell me about a time when you contributed to a quality improvement initiative. What was the project, and what were the results?

The PFC position entails identifying problems in flow and initiating solutions. This is a great question because it allows your candidate a chance to discuss their ability to work with others to make positive change.

What to listen for:

• Aptitude for strategic, systematic, logical thinking
• Ability to work on a team in pursuit of a clear objective

Potential follow up questions:

• If you were to approach that quality improvement project again now, is there anything you would do differently?
• What is one way that you integrate current research when working on an improvement initiative?

3. How would you approach training staff on flow optimization strategies?

This nursing specialty requires the capacity to help teams navigate operational changes. Your candidates will have varying levels of experience with training. This patient flow interview question can help you identify those who will excel in their formal and informal training duties.

What to listen for:

• An understanding of effective training techniques, such as catering to different learning styles, welcoming feedback, and addressing concerns
• Strong communication skills

Potential follow up questions:

• What would you do if a staff nurse expressed resistance toward a change you are working to implement on our unit?
• How do you motivate others to adapt to changes at work?

4. In your past healthcare jobs, how have you prioritized system-wide oversight?

Flow coordinators use high-level thinking to orchestrate workflows. Rather than managing individual cases (like patient care coordinators), they oversee whole units, departments, or facilities. This means they must be able to get the big-picture view of what’s happening. This is often done through data analysis.

What to listen for:

• Prioritization of system-wide monitoring through various means (such as gathering data, tracking key metrics, and communicating with colleagues)
• Ability to grasp overarching issues and objectives

Potential follow up questions:

• Do you have experience using predictive analytics to forecast patient demands?
• Working as a PFC at our facility will involve data analysis. Could you tell us about some of the quality metrics that you would monitor if you were in this role?

5. How do you protect the confidentiality of medical information during your work process?

Many PFCs are tasked with coordinating admissions, transfers, and discharges. Their responsibilities could involve handling patient records to look for patterns and audit for inefficiencies. This question will help you assess how they would handle protected health information (PHI).

Health unit coordinator interview questions (and answers) like this will also help you gauge the candidate’s professionalism and integrity.

What to listen for:

• Awareness of healthcare confidentiality standards, such as HIPAA
• An understanding of the importance of meeting confidentiality standards when handling large volumes of electronic data

Potential follow up questions:

• How do you decide what PHI is appropriate to talk about with your colleagues?
• In the process of analyzing a series of late discharges, you print out multiple patient charts for review. What are a few of the best practices you would follow while handling this data?

6. Describe a time when you identified a shortcoming at a healthcare facility you worked for. What was the problem, and how did you address it?

Problem-solving is central to the PFC role. A talented flow coordinator will be able to see where your organization is falling short of its potential. Look for a person who has demonstrated an ability to come up with keen insights related to systemic flaws, along with the ability to forge a path forward.

For example, one ED found that hiring an emergency nurse for the flow coordinator position led to a 1.5% reduction in their left without being seen (LWBS) rate. This helped the department recapture lost potential charges, amounting to over $5 million in revenue. In this case, the identified problem was the LWBS rate. The flow coordinator addressed it by affecting throughput in the ED, and the result was increased revenue.

What to listen for:

• Has led initiatives that created tangible, trackable gains for other organizations
• Strong problem-solving skills

Potential follow up questions:

• What has been your proudest accomplishment as a nurse leader?
• How do you balance short-term and long-term objectives?

7. How do you stay current on healthcare operations strategies?

The healthcare industry evolves rapidly. Your ideal PFC will be able to stay on top of the changes. Assess their interest in staying informed about leading software and technologies, as well as other operational tactics.

What to listen for:

• Utilizes appropriate resources to stay informed of changes in the industry
• Takes a proactive approach to learning about technological advances

Potential follow up questions:

• Tell me about an emerging strategy you learned about and then quickly took action on.
• How do you discern between strategies you think would benefit an organization and those that would not?

Connect With Qualified Healthcare Leaders Today

With these patient flow coordinator interview questions, you’re on your way to hiring a nurse leader who will make a positive impact on your facility. Need to grow your applicant pool? Quickly connect with qualified professionals by posting your open position to our nursing-focused job board today.