Job Description

IU Health is Indiana’s #1 healthcare system, serving patients across 16 hospitals with more than 34,000 team members committed to excellence in patient care. The Functional Neurosciences Nurse Navigator plays a critical role in supporting patients with complex neurological conditions who often require multidisciplinary evaluations, multiple visits, and coordinated treatment plans.

The Pediatric Neurosurgery Nurse Navigator ensures seamless care across the continuum—from referral through postoperative recovery—while serving as a primary point of contact, educator, advocate, and liaison between patients, providers, and support services.

The Pediatric Neurosurgery Nurse Navigator is responsible for the clinical coordination of neurosurgical pediatric patients with emphasis on advocacy, timely communication, efficient care coordination, and active participation in the optimization of patient outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Patient Advocacy & Care Coordination

• Coordinate patient care from referral through diagnosis, treatment, and postoperative follow-up.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for patients and families to ensure understanding of the treatment plan, appointments, and expectations.

• Provide education to patients and family members about procedures, pre-operative requirements, postoperative care, and any long-term follow-up.

• Collaborate closely with physicians, APPs, nurses, schedulers, case managers, and other team members to ensure timely completion of tests, imaging, and consults.

• Connect patients and families with appropriate internal and external resources as needed.

Navigation & Clinical Support

• Receive and manage select referrals, ensuring all documentation, imaging, and workups are complete and ready for provider review.

• Perform triage of patient calls and messages, escalating urgent needs appropriately.

• Conduct preoperative and postoperative follow-up calls to assess needs, symptom changes, or complications.

• Maintain accurate tracking of patients throughout the continuum—including referrals, pre-operative cases, postoperative recovery, and ongoing care needs.

• Enter radiology and lab orders as appropriate and communicate updates to providers via Cerner, Diagnotes, and verbal communication.

Quality & Program Development

• Assist with collecting, tracking, and reporting quality metrics such as: Patient satisfaction and experience

• Referral-to-evaluation timelines

• Communication responsiveness

• Identify opportunities to improve patient flow, reduce delays, and enhance patient experience.

• Support Pediatric Neurosurgical growth initiatives as defined by leadership.

Qualifications

• Requires an Associates of Nursing (ASN).
• Bachelors of Nursing (BSN) preferred.
• Requires an active Registered Nurse (RN) license in the state of Indiana or an active Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) RN license.
• Requires that the RN has graduated from a nationally accredited nursing program. 3-5 years of experience preferred.
• Requires Basic Life Support certification through the AHA.
• Other advanced life support certifications may be required per unit/department specialty according to patient care policies.
• Specialty certifications may be required per unit/department specialty in accordance with the department provision of care.
• Requires knowledge of personal computers using various types of word processing and database software.
• Requires clinical work experience, medical terminology.
• Requires understanding of medical record requirements, regulations and policies.

Why Choose IU Health?
As the state's largest and most comprehensive healthcare system, we offer a competitive benefits package, including:

• 401(K) Retirement Savings Plan with employer match
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Student Loan Forgiveness Program for eligible participants to help reduce remaining student loan balances over time
• Employee Assistance Program providing free counseling services
• Healthy Results Incentive Programs that reward participation in wellness initiatives with points that translate into financial bonuses on your paycheck

To learn more about our benefits, please visit our benefits website: careers.iuhealth.org/pages/benefits-designed-for-you

• Indiana University Health has nearly 40,000 team members, including more than 3,600 physicians and 1,200 advanced practice providers, and we’re home to the largest nursing network in Indiana with more than 9,000 nursing team members at over 800 sites of care.
• IU Health is ranked No. 1 in Indiana by U.S. News & World Report, Riley Children's Health is ranked among the top children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
• A unique partnership with the Indiana University School of Medicine – one of the nation’s largest medical schools – gives patients access to groundbreaking research and innovative treatments, and it offers team members access to the latest science and the very best training – advancing healthcare for all.
• With 15 hospitals, including seven with Magnet designation and eight with Pathways to Excellence designation, our team members are leading the way through excellence.
• At Indiana University Health, your personal and professional growth is a top priority. You will have access to many diverse opportunities to learn and develop in meaningful ways that matter most to you, such as advanced clinical training, leadership development, promotion opportunities and cross training development.
• Indiana University Health is invested in the lives of Hoosiers, leading the transformation of healthcare to make Indiana one of the nation’s healthiest states.