looking for guidelines for self scheduling

[nurse8585]

We are tyring to implement self- scheduling, and it would be very helpful if we could see some sample self-scheudling guidelines. Can anyone please send me some?

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

How are you doing your scheduling? 8h or 12 h?

My best choice is an Excel or other spread sheet. Names on the left and 2 weeks worth of days and dates across the top.

Do the every other weekends first. Honor the earliest requested days off.

If you do 12s then you probably will have a worked weekend FSaSn and then a couple of days off. Then they work a WTh and off FSaSn

Try it you'll like it. Self scheduling is good, but they have to have an example to go by.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

There are also computer programs that you can purchase. I worked at a large ER (about 120 FTE's) and we all logged into computers and then put our schedules in there. You received notice of when the schedule would "drop" and then you had xx amount of time (usually two weeks) to put your schedule in. Then...it would be frozen so that the manager or designate could approve/'disapprove it. Then...it came out in final form. This stopped a lot of issues.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Yeah but this one is free (j/k)

[pjgc4pjgc]

have you had any luck getting some examples. If so would you be willing to share them?

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

YEp - but someone's gotta enter it all. In the big ER where I worked with 120 folks it was a full-time job. I helped with it for six weeks and gladly gave it back - what a nightmare.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

There has to be some ground rules, such as "you must work every other weekend", "if there aren't enough nurses signed up for a day, we reserve the right to adjust the schedule", "there are no guaranteed schedules", "two requests per schedule for particular days that you must have off and they will not be changed, write those in as an "R".

Our manager make a "first posting" where we sign up what we want. Then she makes out the schedule and posts a 2nd posting. Here we change it to our liking and if she can she will accommodate us. The final schedule is non-negotiable. If we don't like it we have to find our own replacements.

It seems to work.

Remember you aren't going to please your staff no matter what you do.

[Nursonegreat]

one place i worked, we self scheduled and it worked well....there was of course many people that worked on the floor...our manager divided us into 2 groups...a and b. one one schedule fill out session, group a would get 1st dibs at putting their names down..the about a week later the other group would put their days in...the the next fill in session group b would go first, etc. worked well. she had only enough lines on each day she needed and what she needed (7-7 7-3 3-7, etc) so if the day u wanted was filled in, pick another! worked very well our weekends were already pre-filled in i think so we knew which was our weekend.

[BrnEyedGirl, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

We use a program called VasTech,Inc. we "self schedule" but we all have a set 6 week schedule we "plug in" every time the schedule is open. If we need time off we either take ETO time or find someone to switch,...this was tough to do at first, everyone had to agree on the 6 week slots we chose. Good luck!

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

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[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Merged like threads together...