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Inventory Coordinator Duties At the Medical University of South Carolina, we are trying to gather more information about a specific job title that was represented in the Cath Lab Digest March 2008 Salary Survey results. The job title was Inventory Coordinator. I'm looking for qualifications and job descriptions from any hospital that has this position. Thank you! Kelly N. Howard, RT(R), Billing/Supply Coordinator Adult Heart Catheterization MUSC- Ashley River Tower Charleston, SC Email: howardk@musc.edu Cc: cathlabdigest@aol.com I am the Inventory Coordinator the the cath lab at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, GA. We are a 2-room lab, only diagnostic at this point, but we do a lot of implants, and about 6 to 10 peripheral cases per week (diagnostic and interventional.) My position was created 3 years ago during a reorganization process, with the vision of getting into cardiac interventions. For years, I was the senior x-ray tech, who in her “spare time” ordered supplies utilizing 2 notebooks and paper non-stock requisition forms. When the position was created, I dreamed of the day when I could hand those 2 notebooks to the new inventory coordinator and say, “Good luck!” But eventually, my manager encouraged me to take the job and it’s really worked out well for everyone. My job description says that “under the Director, CV Services, has the authority, accountability and responsibilities for the management of all aspects of material management in the Cath Lab.” Position tasks: • Tracking (accounting for products used per case) • Product ordering • Inventory oversight (setting par levels, assuring products are available for re-stocking) • Vendor relations (point of contact for new products in conjunction with manager, overseeing new product assessment) • Resource and point of contact for physicians • “Clinical duties as assigned” Minimum qualifications: Registered RT, minimum 5 years recent clinical experience in the cath lab, two years materials management or department management experience, good communication skills, competent in Windows-based computer software. Here’s what I actually do: All of the above, plus I am the super-user for the hemodynamic monitoring system (we just got a new McKesson), super-user for the image archiving system, Radiation Safety Officer, general resource person (because I have more cath lab experience than anyone else in the lab), and general go-to person for whatever needs to be done. I love working in the lab and fill in as a PRN staff member for vacations and call outs. (Wow, I didn't realize I was so busy!) Honestly, having a desk, bookshelf and the time to devote to organize our supplies has made all the difference. In the first year, I ordered new shelving and turned an equipment room into a storage room for our ever-expanding peripheral supplies. Then I created an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of what I ordered per month (and the expenditures) and put all my frequently ordered items on another spreadsheet, so I can “cut and paste” to make ordering faster. We have also started using an electronic ordering system hospital-wide, and that makes ordering much quicker. (No more sending pieces of paper through inter-office mail!) We have applied for a Certificate of Need (CON) for an open-heart program, so with the growth and changes that we are experiencing, having a dedicated inventory coordinator is essential. I work hard to keep costs down due to over-ordering (and expiration problems), keeping track of which products we could perhaps eliminate (for example, having only 5 Fr in some catheters instead of 5 and 6), and having one central point of contact for vendors and physicians to contact. Nancy Ventress, RT, Cardiac Cath Lab, Gwinnett Medical Center Email: NVentress@ gwinnettmedicalcenter.org

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