Keep Your Nurses Involved and Happy on Shift
September 7, 2022
Are your nurses burned out? A high percentage of nurses are considering new career paths due to low morale, unsatisfying jobs, and feeling under-appreciated, overworked, and being expected to do so much.
Nurse burnout has some serious consequences beyond employee morale. Poor safety compliance and lower quality of care are some of the more damaging effects of burnout. It can also lead to lower organizational commitment from nurses and reduced productivity. Burnout is not just an individual’s problem but as importantly, a patient care and administrative problem too.
The top complaint among nurse units is poor schedule management and no schedule transparency. From one day to the next, the cascade of varying patient needs, unexpected changes, unplanned overtime, and shift extensions add to an already frustrated nursing group. Throw in rotating shifts between day and night and consecutive shifts and you end up with sleep-deprived and disgruntled nurses treating patients.
How Can a Scheduling Software Solution Help?
Nurse schedules, specifically hospitals and long-term care facilities that operate 24/7, often require some of the most complicated employee schedules to provide adequate patient coverage. Surprisingly, despite the scheduling complexity, some healthcare facilities are still relying on outdated manual processes, further adding to staff frustration.
An automated scheduling solution makes filling in gaps due to nurse call offs and changing patient needs much more manageable. Nurse schedulers can quickly identify qualified, available nurses to fill these openings, drive compliance with target hours and ensure these hours are below the weekly overtime threshold. Self-Scheduling Gives Nurses More Control Over Their Schedules
In terms of workforce management in healthcare, self-scheduling for nurses is an area that should be explored by scheduling managers. With the ongoing challenges in the healthcare industry, like retaining nurses, it has become a priority to make the working conditions as convenient and favorable as possible.
One tool that gives nurses the flexibility they need is self-scheduling. An optimized schedule has always been important for healthcare facilities, but now more organizations are refining their processes to empower nurses with greater control over their work/life balance. Hospitals and facilities that operate 24/7 demand around the clock shifts. nurses around the clock. When self-scheduling is utilized to its full potential, this ensures that nurses aren’t working destructive shift patterns that lead to disasters like burnout mentioned above.
Rules-based self-scheduling gives your employees the ability to pick up extra shifts, request time-off, swap shifts and more, all within the rules and guidelines that are set forth by management. If utilized effectively this incredible tool can:
- Boost employee morale
- Improve employee retention
- Increase productivity
- Reduce absenteeism
- Save schedulers time
Self-scheduling lifts the burden off the scheduler’s shoulders and gives employees more freedom to plan their life outside of work. Self-scheduling is just one of the many benefits of implementing nurse scheduling software. Schedule transparency is another.
Schedule Transparency Keeps Everyone on the Same Page
Transparent 24/7 internet access keeps everyone on the same page.
- Big-picture view of the schedule allows admins to optimize every shift, which leads to:
- Less mandatory overtime-Less mandatory overtime means less overworked and under-appreciated employees who will want to keep their jobs instead of looking elsewhere.
- Less agency dependance-It is difficult and frustrating to constantly work with new people. You must take time to “show them the ropes” for short-term help and continuity of care often suffers for patients.
- Less perceived favoritism-Schedule transparency provides less perceived favoritism as the rules, guidelines, and scheduling procedures are made clear to everyone across the board.
- Better work/life balance- Avoid burnout by giving your nurses what they want and need to be productive and happy with a better work/life balance.
- Balanced skill set on shifts-A balanced skill set on every shift means everyone can pull their own weight and compliance issues are less likely to occur.
- Standard procedures-Everyone practices the same processes resulting in more consistent shift scheduling and better patient care.
- Less OT-Reduce mandatory overtime occurrences by optimizing your scheduling processes with nurse scheduling software.
- Less HOT shifts-Less HOT shifts and last-minute changes are possible with an automated scheduling process as staff have 24/7 access to their schedules from any device with internet access.
- Schedules are updated online in real-time- Access your schedule anywhere, anytime, so you don’t have to call in to find out when you work next.
Schedule360 Creates Efficiency
A flexible schedule gives nurses a sense of control over their lives. At this point, it is becoming less about what they want, and more about what they need. Schedule360 benefits nurses and administrators by streamlining the entire scheduling process. Offering your nurses self-scheduling and schedule transparency among other things can strike the perfect balance between filling your schedule and maintaining a happy, healthy workforce. Give your nurses and schedulers something to smile about with an amazing software solution. Contact us for a configured demo today!
