The Theatre Coordinator Role Explained, and How Theatre Nurses Move Into It

Oct 14

4 min read

A theatre coordinator keeps a day's operating lists moving, and the role appears under several titles across Australian hospitals.

The same function is called a floor coordinator in the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation guide to theatre efficiency and in a public position description from an ACT health service. It is called a theatre coordinator in a Queensland role we are recruiting for now.

This Theatre Careers Bulletin sets out what a theatre coordinator does, what employers ask for, what one live advertised role pays, and how scrub scout, anaesthetic and recovery nurses move towards the role.

What a theatre coordinator does

In its March 2024 guide, Strategies to improve theatre efficiency, the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) describes the floor coordinator as a "single point of contact for resource allocation, case and staff allocation". It lists reduced late starts and cancellations due to hospital factors as the expected outcome of the role.

Across the published sources, the work falls into three areas.

Flow. The ACT position description describes the role as facilitating the day-to-day patient flow throughout the operating theatres, working with the scrub scout clinical nurse consultant and suite management.
People. The Queensland advert lists leading workforce deployment, staffing allocations and operational resource management. The ACT description includes leading nursing staff in workforce planning.
Emergencies. The ACI guide recommends balance and equity between elective and emergency cases, adequate day-time access for emergency surgery to minimise after-hours emergency surgery, and an approval process where elective cases need to be cancelled because of emergency load.

What sits around the role

The ACI guide also notes that the operating theatre manager has access to activity data, performance measures, staffing and rostering reports. It recommends that lists are booked realistically with the waitlist manager, using historical data and surgeon estimates.

A coordinator works at the point where those plans meet the actual day, when a list overruns or an emergency case has to be fitted in.

The Queensland advert adds coordinating equipment, instrumentation and clinical resources, building working relationships with surgeons, anaesthetists, nursing teams and CSSD, and supporting quality, risk management, service improvement and accreditation.

What employers ask for

Published requirements differ. The ACT position description is a Registered Nurse Level 2 role. It sets a minimum of 3 years' experience in a perioperative environment or a similar nursing role and lists patient flow coordination experience as highly desirable. A flexible rotating roster is a mandatory requirement.

The Queensland role asks for a minimum of 5 years' operating theatre clinical experience, current AHPRA registration as a Registered Nurse, demonstrated experience coordinating operational activities, and a strong understanding of theatre flow, workforce planning and resource allocation.

Both ask for experience working with multidisciplinary teams and for the ability to respond quickly when the day changes.

What the role pays

Pay is advertised in different ways. The ACT position description states no salary. The Queensland Clinical Nurse Consultant, Theatre Coordinator role we are recruiting for is advertised at up to $73 an hour plus 12% super, permanent and full time.

Calculation: $73 an hour x 38 hours x 52 weeks = $144,248 a year, as a base figure before super and any allowances.

That is the top of the range advertised for one role, not a market average. The advert does not state a classification level, so the figure cannot be matched to an enterprise agreement level here. How hourly and annual figures compare is covered in Theatre Nurse Hourly Rate or Annual Salary: How to Compare Offers Fairly.

How theatre nurses move into coordination

Most of the published requirements describe experience rather than a single qualification. The two lists point to three kinds of experience.

Years in theatre. Three years in the ACT description and five in the Queensland advert, in roles such as scrub scout, anaesthetics or recovery.
Coordination. Both ask for experience managing patient flow, staff or resources across a list. Allocating staff and handling changes to a list is where that experience is built.
Improvement work. The ACT description includes developing and monitoring quality improvement processes. The Queensland advert includes supporting quality, risk management and service improvement.

Coordination sits alongside other leadership roles rather than above or below them. The ANUM and clinical nurse manager pathway is covered in Moving Into an ANUM or Clinical Nurse Manager Role in Perioperative Nursing, and the step towards a nurse unit manager role in How to Position Yourself for a NUM Role in Theatres.

Rosters matter in this role. Theatre Nurse On-Call: What It Involves and How It Is Paid explains how on-call works, and Day Surgery Nurse or Main Theatre: How the Two Roles Compare covers how the setting changes the working day. The team side of the job is covered in What Makes a Great Theatre Team?.

Questions that come up before moving into coordination

How many theatres and lists does a typical day cover?
Is the role rostered across weekdays only, or does it include weekends and after-hours coordination?
Who does the coordinator report to, and how does the role sit alongside the ANUM and nurse unit manager?
How are emergency cases approved and fitted around elective lists?
Is there a path from coordination into a nurse unit manager or perioperative manager role?

You can see the roles we are recruiting for on our theatre nursing jobs in Australia page.