avidreader.jdp

Do you mean Shift Wizard of Shiftwise?

A nice glass of white wine! :)

Hey SuperStaffer! She's actually a Whippet (the medium sized Greyhound), and she's an awesome dog! Yeah, I'm not sure why hospitals spend so much money on some of these crappy solutions! I haven't seen Cerner's acuity system, but I've heard a little about it. Most of the comments mirror your CNO's opinion. Regarding acuity, I agree, in that it's one of those things that seems to have been around forever, and they keep trying to make it work, but no one's ever really come up with a system that isn't easily manipulated. What did you think of Quadramed? I've heard some pretty good things about them.

Hey rnjeff, I was a travel nurse for several years, and have had the opportunity to use all of the systems everyone else has mentioned here. I think the general consensus from everyone is spot-on. I'll list my experiences regarding each system I have personally used: Shift Wizard: I've used Shift Wizard at two hospitals; WakeMed, in Raleigh NC, and Maria Parham, in Henderson, NC. This is an awesome system, and by far my favorite! As someone else mentioned, they are a nurse owned company, which is great. Very easy system to use. One thing my manager really liked (and the staff liked as week) was the fact that they have an interface to Kronos. As a charge nurse, I was able to see all of my productivity (as the day transpired) on my main screen. Apparently, data was pulled from Kronos, which allowed the productivity numbers (HPPD, overtime, etc) to be seen real time. Their training was very straight forward, as the system is incredibly easy to use AND it was apparently designed to to have a workflow that goes with nursing. They have a communication center that will automatically call, text and email your staff! The automated voicemail saved me countless hours trying to cover call outs. Shift Wizard is web based, so staff can access their schedule (and do self scheduling) form home, or their phone, or wherever. Again, by far THE BEST scheduling system I have ever used! Kronos: Compete garbage! Their time and attendance system is pretty good, but their scheduling system is not meant to be used in a hospital. Kronos can not handle multiple kinds of shifts at all! If your schedule involves day/eve/night, then it may a somewhat ok system. Throw in a combination of 4 hour shifts, 6 hour shifts, 8 hour shifts and 12 hour shifts, and you'll have a complete mess on your hands...if you can even get the system to do it. Training was very long, and difficult to understand. The system is NOT easy to use, and pulling reports is like pulling teeth. That's one thing I really liked about Shift Wizard, was the ability to pull a report in seconds! From listening to my manager regarding Kronos, it was VERY expensive too. Ansos: Forget it! It looks and operates like it was built in the 80's. You might as well use a chisel and hammer to make your schedule. No need to even elaborate any further... API: I used API at Rex, in Raleigh, NC. Very difficult system to use. Not user friendly at all. The staff tried many times to give up on it, but management wanted us to try to make it work, so we were forced to use it. Most departments would actually keep a paper schedule too, because the paper schedule was easier to manage. Needles to say, it never really worked Cerner: Cerner bought another scheduling company (I don't remember who), but their system is very difficult to use, and when we had a problem, their customer service was HORRIBLE! Good luck getting any help with even minor issues. Their EMR isn't bad, as they'll do a lot of custom configuration, but their scheduling system is pretty bad. I hope this helps!!