The Complete Guide to Writing A Nurses’ Self Scheduling Policy

With the challenges of retaining nurses in the healthcare industry, it is important for healthcare facilities to find ways to help make the work environment more attractive. One of the more popular perks for nurses is introducing self-scheduling. Although this might sound like a policy that would lead to disaster, more and more healthcare facilities are using this scheduling system to offer nurses more control over their own time.

For self-scheduling to work, a policy should be drawn up so that everyone understands their responsibilities and how the system works. Here we offer self-scheduling for nurses guidelines to empower nursing staff to manage their life-work balance while providing full coverage for a happier team.  

 

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Consider Group Rotation

One of the biggest challenges of self-scheduling for nurses is ensuring everyone is treated as fairly as possible. To ensure fairness, create at least two groups of nurses. The purpose of the groups is to allow for rotation so that everyone gets a chance to be the first to enter their desired schedule times. For smaller staff groups, you can allow each nurse to rotate their chance to enter their desired hours first.

Introduce a Scheduling Process

The scheduling process explains clearly how the schedule will be compiled. The details required for an effective process would include:

Define Scheduling Requirements

In order to ensure proper coverage, it is necessary to define your scheduling requirements. Your requirements would include:

Time Off Request Rules

As with any scheduling system, time off can pose issues. Your self-scheduling, therefore, requires a request for time off due date and guidelines including:

Holiday scheduling will have its own requirements including:

Overtime Policy

Outline the rules regarding overtime including:

Compliance Tracking

To truly reap the benefits of self-scheduling for nurses you can use a scheduling software. This will help you track compliance for your self-scheduling policy. It will ensure nurses are working their required hours each week and that all shifts are covered effectively. You can also use scheduling software in hand with a payroll/time clock to ensure pay is properly recorded including overtime.

About The Author

Kayla is the Marketing Manager at Paypro Corporation overseeing all inbound and outbound marketing and sales efforts. She has 7+ years of experience working within the B2B and SaaS based solutions space and thrives on creating messaging and campaigns that introduce products and services to those who need them most.