1. April Cobb, RN, BSN, CRRN, Chief Nursing Officer Marsha Tudor, RN, BSN, CRRN, Nurse Manager

2.  One of the top three reasons registered nurses and other clinical staff leave the bedside is the inflexibility of work schedules and conflicts with family responsibilities, continuing education, and an overall need to balance personal and professional lives. So our questions were…What can we do to assist our employees with this balance? Can we give them more control in managing their schedules?

3.  API was introduced in 2011 as a more efficient & effective way to manage schedules of the nearly 180 licensed and support staff in the Lakeshore Nursing Department  API provided real-time tracking of patient census, employee attendance & punctuality, employee licensure & certification renewals, and allowed the introduction of self- scheduling

4.  Baseline staffing parameters were established  Minimum weekend, holiday, and high demand scheduling requirements were set  Preferred methods of contact were established by individual employees  Education of program use was completed, including how to access from home or work computers and mobile devices for increased user accessibility

5. o Once the scheduled period closes, schedules are reviewed for completeness, minimum requirements, and approval or denial of all PTO or holiday requests o Vacant shifts are indicated and may be requested by flexi-pool and/or as extra shifts for regular staff with approval or denial by management o Broadcasts (via employee selected method of contact) are made regarding any remaining open shifts o When scheduling period opens, employees can enter their preferred schedules along with two optional “unavailable” dates o All Paid Time Off (PTO) & holiday requests must also be entered by the end of the open scheduling period

6. RESULTS

7.  Number of daily call-offs decreased from a monthly average of 80 to 35

8.  Agency rate usage decreased to 0%  Licensed staff turnover was reduced by 25%

9.  Due to new positions added during this time, the overtime rate remained steady  Based upon employee survey results, staff morale regarding scheduling improved

10. “Self-scheduling is the best!” “I have had a great experience with it because I get on at midnight and put in my schedule and I don’t need much flexibility.” “I really love API scheduling because it allows me to be off most of the time when I need to be.”

11.  Self-scheduling can have an overall positive impact on an organization. 1. Decreased cost of training new employees due to staff turnover 2. Reduction of overtime rates due to fewer call-offs and staff shortages 3. Reduction of agency or contract employees 4. Improved efficiency in contacting employees for open shifts 5. Improved employee morale due to improved ability to balance personal and professional lives 6. Improved patient satisfaction and outcomes through improved consistency of nursing staff

12. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION!