Ways to Simplify Residency Scheduling

Residents look forward to match day to learn what programs they may be spending the next four years of their life with. While match day may be a pinnacle for residents, it is just the beginning of a long and arduous residency scheduling process. Fortunately, efficient and automated scheduling software can create schedule transparency, control schedule access, and facilitate schedule automation and metric tracking to simplify the process for all parties.

Schedule Transparency

The importance of schedule transparency, especially for residency scheduling, cannot be overemphasized. Transparency allows both your residents and managers to view the schedule and request changes in advance, reducing last-minute hassles and potential gaps. Additionally, it decreases stress on the residents because they can easily view shifts from their PC or mobile device, thanks to Intrigma’s remote access capabilities.

Intrigma’s scheduling dashboard also allows you to simultaneously view multiple residents' rotation schedules as well as the actual working schedule. This transparency helps you keep track of where residents are working and to whom they are assigned. Plus, having this all available in one easy-to-view area makes scheduling accessible and a breeze to navigate.

Controlled Schedule Access

When you have many residents to coordinate, having control of the schedule is imperative, largely due to rules enacted by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). This council dictates the number of hours per shift and per week that residents can be expected to complete. It also dictates the number of on-call shifts residents can be scheduled for.

Tight control of scheduling can ensure your program is compliant with the ACGME. Intrigma's scheduling software allows you to restrict access to certain parts of the system, only permitting the chief resident to log in and schedule for certain areas.

Schedule Automation And Metric Tracking

Schedulers' jobs are multi-fold. They must maximize residents' schedules while helping them achieve their educational requirements and goals and maintaining their sanity and safety. In fact, overworked residents can threaten patient safety as well. For example, overtired residents may struggle with concentration, which could potentially lead to errors in tasks such as filling out paperwork or prescriptions.

Automated scheduling can avoid these dangerous situations and offers many benefits. It increases efficiency, eliminates favoritism in the schedule, and allows for last-minute changes when required.

Additionally, it creates fairness to residents by tracking any specific day, shift, or other metrics to ensure fair distribution across all residents. For example, you can track which residents are working Friday nights or holidays and make adjustments where needed. This enables you to avoid scheduling residents for too many night shifts in a row and minimize day/night swings in the schedule. Intrigma’s scheduling software also allows you to send deadline reminders to make sure residents submit requests for vacation on time.

As a result, you can ensure compliance with residency and rotation requirements, thanks to software that creates scheduling rules and automation to make your job easier.

Don’t let residency scheduling be the nightmare it is capable of becoming.

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To learn more about how Intrigma can simplify your residency scheduling, contact us today.

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