The nursing scheduling process is no easy feat. Between last-minute callouts, no-shows, and shift swaps, keeping track of staff while fulfilling client expectations can feel like a juggling act. Throw in the requirement to match the right registered nurses to specific patient needs, and the balancing act grows even more challenging.
Healthcare staffing firms not only need to keep healthcare facilities happy—they also need to retain their nursing staff. Keeping your nursing staff happy means being aware of the toll last-minute schedule changes and longer shifts can have on their work-life balance.
Luckily, there are strategies healthcare staffing agencies can follow to help streamline the scheduling process, including using the right tools to automate time-consuming tasks and bring down administrative costs.
What are typical nursing schedules?
The typical nurse schedule will depend on where they work and their staffing arrangement. Here are a few examples of standard shift schedules:
- 12-hour shifts: Full-time nurses working in hospitals or other 24/7 care facilities usually work 12-hour shifts three times per week, covering either day or night shifts.
- Outpatient schedules: Nurses in clinic settings often work 8- or 10-hour shifts during the day.
- Per diem: This staffing arrangement means nurses remain on-call and work shifts as needed.
- Part-time schedules: Generally, nurses working less than 30 hours per week are considered part-time, often meaning they work two to three shifts of 8 to 12 hours.
- Role-based schedules: Schedules can vary based on a nurse’s role. For example, nurse managers typically work standard business hours with limited weekend or holiday work.
Examples of common nurse scheduling problems
Healthcare staffing firms frequently face a variety of challenges when planning nursing schedules. In addition to last-minute callouts and no-shows, typical nursing scheduling challenges include:
- Nursing shortages: The U.S. faces a national nursing crisis, and qualified nursing staff are in short supply. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce expects nursing shortages in 42 out of 50 states by 2030.
- Rotating shifts: Bouncing between day and night shifts can lead to excessive sleepiness and poor concentration, posing risks to nurses’ well-being and patient outcomes. A third of nurses on rotating shifts or permanent nights have reported falling asleep at least once a week during a night shift.
- Overscheduling and overtime: Overscheduling can lead to nurse burnout, posing a risk to patient care.
- Time-off requests: Schedules must accommodate time-off requests, including paid time off and sick time.
- Scheduling conflicts and errors: Double-booking staff or forgetting to book a slot can increase stress for staff working that shift.
- Shift swapping: Frequent shift swaps can make it challenging to ensure that the nurse with the right level of skill and experience is available during each shift.
- Labor law compliance: Nursing scheduling must comply with labor regulations for overtime, breaks, and work hours—all of which must be carefully documented.
- Scheduling preferences: Some nursing staff have limited availability for overnights, weekends, or holidays, which can also complicate scheduling.
The fundamentals of effective nursing scheduling
Considering the unpredictable variables you have to deal with when planning nurse schedules, gaining control over scheduling is key. If these challenges feel familiar to you, try some of these strategies to streamline shift scheduling.
Pattern and rotation models
Predictable schedules can go a long way in helping nursing staff achieve a healthy work-life balance. While rotating schedules are often necessary to ensure fairness among staff, staffing firms can support nurses by avoiding:
- Rotating a nurse from a day shift to a night shift within 24 hours
- Scheduling too many consecutive 12-hour shifts
- Scheduling overtime for more than 12 straight hours (like a 16-hour double shift)
The more predictable you can make your schedules for nurses—like sticking to specific shifts or days of the week—the better. Consistency makes it easier for your staff to plan their personal lives around their work lives.
Self-scheduling approaches
Self-scheduling models are a huge win for nurses, especially those who are working per diem, who usually don’t have control over their schedules. Nursing staff can log in to your company’s mobile app to easily find and claim shifts that work best for them.
Self-scheduling makes life simpler for staff, and it also drives down the administrative costs and overhead for healthcare staffing firms. Instead of using old-fashioned call trees or contacting nurses individually to fill shifts, nurses can decide on their own schedules, saving you time and cutting labor costs. Keeping nurses happy can also help you retain top talent and strengthen your competitive edge.
Float pool utilization
A float pool is a staffing model healthcare facilities use to cover staffing shortages and changing patient needs. A “pool” is a staffing strategy where a facility selects from a group of nurses trained across different departments to fill immediate staffing needs.
For example, an emergency department might call in extra nurses using a float pool if there’s a spike in injured patients following an accident or severe weather event. Establishing a float pool model can give your agency more flexibility to adapt to sudden shifts in the schedule.
PRN and contingent staff integration
Keeping a list of nurses who only want to work on-call or per diem is another way to introduce more flexibility into your staff scheduling process. Contingent nurses are usually temporary or contract staff hired for a specific period or project. You can tap into this list to fill gaps caused by staff illness, increased patient volume, or skills gaps during a particular shift.
Incentive program design
Some healthcare facilities use an incentive program to encourage staff to take on last-minute or busy shifts to ensure the facility stays staffed. To fill slots, they may offer nurses bonuses, overtime pay, gift cards, or valuable perks, like VIP parking spots. Incentive programs create a win-win situation for nursing staff and the facility.
How to balance organizational needs with nurse preferences
With nursing shortages and high rates of nurse burnout, retention is crucial for staffing companies. Often, holding onto talented nurses involves giving nurses a positive experience by doing your best to meet their scheduling preferences despite other scheduling challenges. Doing this effectively can lead to increased job satisfaction.
Achieving this balance is likely a daily task, but employing some strategies can make it easier. Try out some of these tips to balance what facilities need and what nurses want.
Preference collection and prioritization
Consider collecting nurse scheduling preferences as part of your onboarding process. Include questions like the following in a short onboarding questionnaire:
- Are you willing to work night shifts?
- Are you willing to work weekends?
- Can you accommodate last-minute shift requests?
- Would it be okay to contact you if we need extra help due to patient volume?
If you use scheduling tools like workforce management software, you may be able to tailor the system to filter by scheduling preferences when you’re looking to fill an immediate opening. This way, you quickly connect with the right people who are likely available based on their preferred work schedules and avoid spending time asking nurses who can’t accommodate the hours.
Transparent rule development
To keep schedules running smoothly, it’s essential to have clear, transparent policies that outline situations like cancellations, shift swaps, overtime, and callouts. Making sure staff can easily access these rules at all times (such as posted on a central, shared dashboard) is also key.
For example, if you allow shift swaps, have a well-documented, step-by-step approval process that reviews a nurse’s skills and training so you’re not at risk of jeopardizing patient care. A comprehensive approval process helps keep everyone on the same page and schedule changes under control.
Communication and feedback loops
Regular communication with staff and facilities keeps schedules running smoothly. Fortunately, you can automate a lot of that communication via workforce management platforms to send:
- Notifications to staff reminding them of upcoming shifts
- Texts allowing staff to confirm their shifts the day before
- Alerts for new nursing shifts that match their nurse preferences
- Messages to update certifications or other necessary paperwork
With these feedback loops, you can enhance staff experience without requiring more personnel. Your staffing agency can easily stand out from the competition.
Measuring and improving satisfaction
The experience you offer facility clients and staff may be the sole reason people pick your firm over another—and continually improving these experiences requires feedback from those clients and staff. To show your agency is listening, ask for comments and recommendations and incorporate them into your staffing processes.
You can use nurse scheduling software to gather this information, thanks to built-in data analytics and collection tools. These insights can give you a real-time look into what works and what needs improvement so you can continue to streamline and improve your services.
Master nurse scheduling with flexible software
Managing nursing scheduling is an ongoing balancing act that requires strategic approaches, innovative ideas, and the right tools. The scheduling process requires significant flexibility—and your technology should be flexible, too.
Teambridge offers workforce management software differentiated by its composability, which means you can customize it to fit your unique workflows. Because the software focuses on the unique needs of staffing agencies, including healthcare staffing firms, it empowers you to create custom incentive programs, staff rating systems, and more based on how your agency operates.
You can also use Teambridge's white-label mobile app to empower nurses to view available shifts based on their qualifications, pick up open assignments, and get instantly approved—all while maintaining complete visibility and control.
Let’s hop on a call so you can see how all of this could work for your agency. Schedule a personalized demo to master nurse scheduling and win more of the healthcare market.
