Nursing is a demanding profession. Highly stressful situations, long hours, and the emotional toll of caring for sick patients can easily lead to physical and mental exhaustion. This phenomenon - known as nurse burnout - can cause nurses to look for alternative career options and lends itself to the nationwide nurse shortage.
One major contributing factor to nurse burnout is the impact of nurse- to-patient ratios. When nurses are required to care for more patients than they have the resources for, they become overwhelmed and exhausted. This not only adversely effects the nurse's physical and mental health; it can also lead to an increase in mistakes and accidents.
To ensure proper staffing numbers and reduce nurse burnout, many facilities are implementing nurse scheduling software. But with so many options available, how do you know which program will best meet your facility's specific scheduling requirements?
Here are four things to consider when selecting staff scheduling software for your healthcare facility.
Does it work for your industry?
Employee scheduling software that is designed for facilities
that operate 24/7 and schedule for shifts is essential. Software
that allows nurse managers to
create schedules for multiple
departments and provides visibility of multiple
schedules across an entire organization will safeguard against
double booking or improperly scheduling nurses who work in multiple
departments or locations.
Does it do the math?
An employee scheduling system should take manually performing
staffing calculations off nurse managers, giving them more time to
focus on core responsibilities. This increases productivity and
ensures proper staffing levels and
nurse-to-patient ratios. Whether it staffs nurses based on shift
requirements, census count or by patient acuity, each healthcare
facility should consider whether the software it chooses can be
customized to make the required calculations according to its
unique criteria.
Does it help fill open shifts?
Nurse call offs and missed shifts effect the efficiency of the
entire healthcare facility. Nurse scheduling software that allows
managers to instantly communicate with staff via email and text
message helps managers
fill open shifts fast. Software that
lets managers send messages to a select group of qualified and
available employees safeguards against non-compliance by ensuring
every department is staffed with properly trained and qualified
personnel.
Does it have you covered?
Tracking nurse's skill levels, certifications and credentials is necessary for maintaining appropriate staffing levels. Software with the capability to assign these qualifications to each nurse helps managers schedule by required certifications, training and skill - ensuring the correct number of qualified nurses are scheduled in the appropriate departments. For added security, look for employee scheduling software that sends alerts when certifications are nearing expiration or when employees are due for additional training.
Are you interested in learning more about a staff scheduling solution that meets the healthcare industry's unique scheduling requirements, improves nurse satisfaction, and increases overall patient outcomes? Learn how ScheduleAnywhere also cuts time spent on scheduling by up to 75%, giving nurse managers more time to focus on day-to-day operations. That's a win for your entire healthcare facility.
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