With a non-stop flow of patients and a squad of medical professionals rushing around to help them, hospitals and health care centers can be hectic places. In the midst of all this organized chaos it's challenging for staff to keep up with constantly shifting schedules or clocking in and out.
All this means effective scheduling poses several major obstacles for medical managers at hospitals and health care centers. Since each nurse has their own particular requests and restrictions that need to be coalesced with the hospital's agenda, it causes a significant problem for managers attempting to create a workable roster that adheres to every party's specifications.
Other factors complicating the nursing scheduling problem include legal, management and operational components that need to be incorporated as well. For instance, the maximum working hours allowed in a day could create a conflict with requirements for cover and skill mix.
Trying to balance a host of factors greatly complicates medical staff scheduling for health care managers.
With so much happening at these facilities, nurses and physicians don't always have the time to locate and access a computer workstation to check their updated schedules or input requests for shift changes.
Further, end users expect technological solutions similar to the streamlined and intuitive interfaces that accompany typical consumer apps. Too often, enterprise systems don't prioritize user experience, instead focusing solely on the program's utility.
"Enterprise systems often don't prioritize user experience."
However, ensuring nurses, physicians and other medical staff are not overworked and facing unfair work/life balances is important for keeping team morale high, ensuring high employee retention levels and optimizing patient care. Burned out staff members or those whose requests are constantly overlooked will be more likely to be unsatisfied with their position, leave the organization or put in a lackluster effort.
Leveraging mobile technology for medical staffing puts you ahead of competitors.
It really seems like everyone has a mobile phone these days. In fact, the number of mobile phone users is still expected to continue growing. After reaching 232.2 million in 2010, the number of mobile phone users in the U.S. increased to 258 million in 2015, and experts project this number to rise to 276.7 million by 2020, Statista reported.
2021 update, we're at an estimated 298 million mobile phone users.
Having access to open shifts, timesheets and other aspects all on a mobile phone can vastly improve the entire scheduling process. Instead of having to fax in requests or stop by a particular office to write in a time log, a mobile app allows nurses, physicians or other medical staff to easily upload requests, restrictions or other information to help streamline the entire scheduling process.
BlueSky Medical Staffing Software provides hospital and health care staff with access to a simple, easy-to-use mobile app allowing caregivers to instantly:
- View schedule.
- View open shifts.
- Apply for open orders.
- Confirm orders.
- Upload time sheets.
- Clock in and out.
- Contact support.
Click here to learn more about how BlueSky Medical Staffing Software helps hospitals and health care centers overcome the challenges associated with scheduling, traveling, locum tenens and more.
