Hospitals Choose ShiftSelect™ to Increase Staff Engagement and Predictability of Nursing Schedule
March 15 2012 - 9:30AM
Business Wire
API Healthcare, the leading healthcare-focused workforce
management technology provider, is seeing an upward trend in
self-scheduling among ShiftSelect™ clients. ShiftSelect is part of
API Healthcare’s full suite of workforce management solutions.
Through the use of the system’s self-scheduling tools, nursing
staff on a unit collectively develop the core schedule using
unit-specific parameters as a guide. By empowering nurses to
schedule themselves, they become proactive participants in the
scheduling process, leading to improved morale which can result in
improved quality of care.
Nurse managers and hospital scheduling offices use ShiftSelect
to create core schedules and then publish open shifts to qualified
staff by using unit specific parameters within the software.
Through the self-scheduling tools within ShiftSelect nurses can
also choose their shifts, creating a greater sense of fairness and
a better work-life balance. Because the specific needs of the unit
are the driving force behind schedule creation, there is little
intervention needed from nursing management.
“The goal of self-scheduling is to create a shared effort
between management and nursing staff,” said Kathy Douglas, chief
nursing officer, API Healthcare. “When nurses are empowered to
choose their shifts, it creates buy-in and reinforces their
commitment to the needs of the nursing unit. Research shows that
high employee morale leads to better workplace performance.
Empowering nurses to take control of their own schedules is an
effective way to create a workplace-of-choice environment that
supports optimal patient care quality.”
St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Ga., uses the self-scheduling
tools in ShiftSelect in most of their nursing and nursing support
areas as a means to complete the core schedule and fill shift
vacancies in the most cost effective and efficient way.
“Self-scheduling puts staffing accountability in the front
lines, and supports a nursing practice environment of autonomy,”
stated Heidi Coffee, RN, BSN, CMSRN, administrative director
of nursing operations at St. Francis Hospital. “The technology
brings consistency and transparency to how we schedule and has
significantly improved the percentage of filled core and open
shifts.”
At Regional Hospital of Jackson, in Jackson, Tenn., ICU nurses
have been self-scheduling using ShiftSelect for almost a year.
Nurses who enter their request for what shifts they prefer to work
receive a match from the system based upon the unit’s staffing
requirements in combination with individual preferences.
“Self-scheduling has significantly shortened the amount of time
required to create a unit schedule and has made it much easier on
everyone,” said Mary Butler, RN, ICU clinical director at Regional
Hospital of Jackson. “Our staff really likes the ability to
self-schedule, and having this capability automated has helped
contribute to overall staff satisfaction. Self-scheduling helps our
nurses to better meet personal obligations and balance their
work/life challenges and goals. This scheduling approach has been a
win for both the unit and our individual nurses.”
To realize the greatest effectiveness from self-scheduling,
nurse leaders must first evaluate the level of staff readiness
before implementing this type of staffing model. Group
participation in decision making and other important unit dynamics
are imperative to the success of this workforce management
strategy. API Healthcare has made available a complementary
self-scheduling assessment tool to allow hospitals and other
healthcare organizations determine their staff readiness.
ABOUT API HEALTHCARE
API Healthcare (www.apihealthcare.com) is the largest
healthcare-specific vendor focused on workforce management
solutions for the healthcare industry. Driven by the mission to
elevate quality and performance across the healthcare community
through innovative workforce solutions, API Healthcare has been
dedicated to the healthcare industry for 30 years. The company’s
staffing and scheduling, patient classification, human resources,
payroll, time and attendance, business analytics, and staffing
agency solutions are used by more than 1,600 hospitals and staffing
agencies. Founded in 1982, API Healthcare has been rated by KLAS in
the Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards Report (www.KLASresearch.com) as the
top time and attendance provider system for the last ten years
(2002-2011).