NEWS
Hospital scheduling shifts
-
July 1, 2008
John Andrews, Contributing Writer , Healthcare IT News
Of all the headaches that come with the nursing profession, scheduling problems can be a killer migraine for both managers and staff.
Ideally, managers want to know that each shift is properly staffed and nurses want the work slots they request.
When that doesn’t happen, tempers flare, tensions rise, staffing levels become unstable and turnover accelerates. Then it’s pass the aspirin time.
That’s why vendors of automated scheduling software are focusing on these elements with their product lines. By providing tools that address the issues of availability, predictability and flexibility, hospitals should see an end result of staff stability, system suppliers say.
Stabilizing hospital staffing levels is the ultimate objective at Concerro (formerly BidShift), said Chief Nursing Officer Kathy Douglas. The San Diego-based company recently changed its name to reflect a new business model that focuses more on permanent relationships than shift bidding for temporary contractors, she said.
“Our new name is derived from Latin, which means ‘creating connections and bridges,’” Douglas said. “That better reflects who we are and what we’re trying to do. We are connecting workers with organizations, providing data to the people who need it to make decisions. All things come together to make a bridge.”
CHANGING APPROACH
While shift bidding was the company’s stock and trade (and still is to a certain degree), the nurse-scheduling environment is changing and system vendors must adjust accordingly, Douglas said.
“Organizations are looking to create long-term and sustainable relationships instead of quick fixes,” she said. “Bidding strategies often backfire because desperate, last-minute offers contain the most financial incentives. Workers know this, so they hold out in order to get the best offer.”
Between the chronic nursing shortage and cost-cutting pressures, hospitals are searching for ways to maximize their staffing productivity at the most efficient level possible. The solution, Douglas said, is to find a system that keeps staff members happy.
“If you can find a way to eliminate the root cause of staffing problems, it ripples out to solve other problems,” she said. “If an organization wants to decrease the use of contract labor, the real goal should be to drive satisfaction so there isn’t as much turnover and create an environment that is attractive to new employees.”
FOCUS ON PATIENTS
Durham, N. C.-based AtStaff has created a system that takes a completely new approach to staffing. Instead of simply creating days and times for shifts, it designs skill profiles of each nurse so that schedules can best accommodate patient needs.
Company executives say that while the correlation may not be abundantly clear at first, it hits on an aspect that is most essential to job satisfaction.
“Ask nurses what they consider to be the most important aspect of their job – and this has been validated – the number one response is to work in an organization that provides quality patient care,” said CEO Beth Pickard. “There is a revolutionary shift going on and that is patient-focused healthcare.”
Various industry initiatives revolve around quality patient care, from safety awareness to pay-for-performance to the electronic health record. Hence, it makes sense to tailor a scheduling system toward providing the best care for patients, Pickard said.
“You can’t have patient management without staff management because you must continuously know what the patient needs,” she said. “Staffing has to be integrated with clinical documentation. Leveraging the rich clinical data should drive staff management.”
By properly using clinical patient data, managers can allocate the appropriate staff to help the patient reach the next level of wellness faster, added Michael Warner, chairman and chief science officer,
“The key is knowing exactly what you need in terms of staffing,” he said. “When you look at the need for nursing care on an hourly basis, you can get details that aren’t apparent when you look at it shift by shift.”
Hartford, Wis.-based API Software has offered its ActiveStaffer software for nearly a decade with the intent of making nurse managers’ lives easier when it comes to filling shifts, says Product Manager Christopher Daute.
“A scheduling process that took days and weeks manually now takes hours,” he said. “It’s about everyone managing their valuable time better.”
DELIVERING AS PROMISED
Nursing managers Cyndi Luciano, RN, and Jolynn Schick, RN, attest that ActiveStaffer has delivered on its promise for them at Scottsdale (Arizona) Healthcare in the three years they’ve been using it. The three-hospital regional network has approximately 5,000 employees on the scheduling system.
For Luciano, manager of nursing resources, the automated program doesn’t just save time; it saves a lot of physical effort as well.
“Before ActiveStaffer we didn’t have a global view – if I was on the sixth floor and wondered if someone on the fourth floor was working that day, I would have to take the elevator and go look at the schedule,” she said. “Now I have the ability to know where people are and fill the needs immediately.”
RN Supervisor Schick doesn’t miss hand calculating the number of hours each nurse works.
“Now it’s based on the activity record for each person, including the number of hours each person is scheduled and the staff census,” she said. “We look at staffing levels to make sure they match with the census to make it as economical as possible. And we can look 10 to 14 days in advance to see where our holes are.”
Ideally, managers want to know that each shift is properly staffed and nurses want the work slots they request.
When that doesn’t happen, tempers flare, tensions rise, staffing levels become unstable and turnover accelerates. Then it’s pass the aspirin time.
That’s why vendors of automated scheduling software are focusing on these elements with their product lines. By providing tools that address the issues of availability, predictability and flexibility, hospitals should see an end result of staff stability, system suppliers say.
Stabilizing hospital staffing levels is the ultimate objective at Concerro (formerly BidShift), said Chief Nursing Officer Kathy Douglas. The San Diego-based company recently changed its name to reflect a new business model that focuses more on permanent relationships than shift bidding for temporary contractors, she said.
“Our new name is derived from Latin, which means ‘creating connections and bridges,’” Douglas said. “That better reflects who we are and what we’re trying to do. We are connecting workers with organizations, providing data to the people who need it to make decisions. All things come together to make a bridge.”
CHANGING APPROACH
While shift bidding was the company’s stock and trade (and still is to a certain degree), the nurse-scheduling environment is changing and system vendors must adjust accordingly, Douglas said.
“Organizations are looking to create long-term and sustainable relationships instead of quick fixes,” she said. “Bidding strategies often backfire because desperate, last-minute offers contain the most financial incentives. Workers know this, so they hold out in order to get the best offer.”
Between the chronic nursing shortage and cost-cutting pressures, hospitals are searching for ways to maximize their staffing productivity at the most efficient level possible. The solution, Douglas said, is to find a system that keeps staff members happy.
“If you can find a way to eliminate the root cause of staffing problems, it ripples out to solve other problems,” she said. “If an organization wants to decrease the use of contract labor, the real goal should be to drive satisfaction so there isn’t as much turnover and create an environment that is attractive to new employees.”
FOCUS ON PATIENTS
Durham, N. C.-based AtStaff has created a system that takes a completely new approach to staffing. Instead of simply creating days and times for shifts, it designs skill profiles of each nurse so that schedules can best accommodate patient needs.
Company executives say that while the correlation may not be abundantly clear at first, it hits on an aspect that is most essential to job satisfaction.
“Ask nurses what they consider to be the most important aspect of their job – and this has been validated – the number one response is to work in an organization that provides quality patient care,” said CEO Beth Pickard. “There is a revolutionary shift going on and that is patient-focused healthcare.”
Various industry initiatives revolve around quality patient care, from safety awareness to pay-for-performance to the electronic health record. Hence, it makes sense to tailor a scheduling system toward providing the best care for patients, Pickard said.
“You can’t have patient management without staff management because you must continuously know what the patient needs,” she said. “Staffing has to be integrated with clinical documentation. Leveraging the rich clinical data should drive staff management.”
By properly using clinical patient data, managers can allocate the appropriate staff to help the patient reach the next level of wellness faster, added Michael Warner, chairman and chief science officer,
“The key is knowing exactly what you need in terms of staffing,” he said. “When you look at the need for nursing care on an hourly basis, you can get details that aren’t apparent when you look at it shift by shift.”
Hartford, Wis.-based API Software has offered its ActiveStaffer software for nearly a decade with the intent of making nurse managers’ lives easier when it comes to filling shifts, says Product Manager Christopher Daute.
“A scheduling process that took days and weeks manually now takes hours,” he said. “It’s about everyone managing their valuable time better.”
DELIVERING AS PROMISED
Nursing managers Cyndi Luciano, RN, and Jolynn Schick, RN, attest that ActiveStaffer has delivered on its promise for them at Scottsdale (Arizona) Healthcare in the three years they’ve been using it. The three-hospital regional network has approximately 5,000 employees on the scheduling system.
For Luciano, manager of nursing resources, the automated program doesn’t just save time; it saves a lot of physical effort as well.
“Before ActiveStaffer we didn’t have a global view – if I was on the sixth floor and wondered if someone on the fourth floor was working that day, I would have to take the elevator and go look at the schedule,” she said. “Now I have the ability to know where people are and fill the needs immediately.”
RN Supervisor Schick doesn’t miss hand calculating the number of hours each nurse works.
“Now it’s based on the activity record for each person, including the number of hours each person is scheduled and the staff census,” she said. “We look at staffing levels to make sure they match with the census to make it as economical as possible. And we can look 10 to 14 days in advance to see where our holes are.”
-
Related Links
Healthcare IT News