Anesthesia scheduling software for OR coverage and call

How a month comes together for an anesthesia group

Take a group of twelve anesthesiologists. The Anesthesia preset starts with three lines: OR Coverage, 7a to 5p on weekdays; First Call, a 24-hour call from 7a to 7a every day; and Second Call, the backup, also every day. OR Coverage starts with two seats a day, so a group running six rooms sets People needed to six. March 2027 has 23 weekdays, which makes 138 OR seats, 31 first calls and 31 second calls, 200 assignments in all. Each carries fairness points: an OR day counts 1, a first call 1.5 on a weekday, 2 on a weekend and 2.5 on a holiday, and a backup call 0.5, 1 and 1.5. Change any of it on Shifts & Rules, or add the lines the preset leaves out, such as a cardiac or OB board, a late room, or a CRNA line, each with a tag for who can work it.

Before the month is built, the scheduler opens requests for it with a due date, and everyone with an email address gets a note. Each anesthesiologist marks vacation, conference days, and the days they would rather be off or would like to work, and can say how much work they want, such as no more than three first calls. In our test month, one took the third week as vacation, another had a conference on a Thursday and Friday, a third asked for a weekend off, and a fourth asked to work a particular Friday. Vacation and conference days go to the scheduler to approve, and approved time off is never scheduled over. The rest are wishes the schedule meets where it can, and the Preferences met list shows any it could not. All four were met.

Then click Generate. Because first call runs 7a to 7a and the preset turns on a 24-hour limit on continuous work, nobody is put in the OR or on backup the morning after first call, and nobody takes first call two nights running. In the test month that held after every one of the 31 calls, and nothing was left unfilled. Rules of your own sit on top, such as spacing out weekend calls or keeping a senior partner off nights, each set to Must or Prefer. A Must rule that cannot be met leaves the slot visibly unfilled instead of quietly breaking the rule.

The Report shows each anesthesiologist's OR days, first and second calls, weekend days, holidays and points against a fair share, prorated for anyone part time, for the month or any range of dates you choose. In the test month everyone worked 11 or 12 OR days and two or three of each kind of call, and everyone came within one point of a fair share of 17.3. Requests come first, and fairness evens out what is left, across the whole year rather than one month at a time.

When it looks right, Publish. Everyone sees their OR days and calls on a phone, can subscribe to them in Google Calendar, iPhone or Outlook, and trades a call in the app with the scheduler giving the final yes. Name each holiday the same way every year, and whoever took first call on Christmas last year is steered away from it this year. The part that used to take evenings, fitting 200 assignments around everyone's requests and the day after call, is the part the generator does.

Questions Anesthesia groups ask

How do I make an anesthesia call schedule?

Pick the Anesthesia preset in the setup wizard, add your anesthesiologists, and set how many OR seats you staff each weekday. Open requests so everyone can mark vacation and days off, then click Generate to fill the OR, first call and second call around them. Check the Report, change any cell by hand, and Publish.

Is the day after call kept free?

Yes. Set up with the Anesthesia preset, first call runs 7a to 7a and the group starts with a 24-hour limit on continuous work, so the generator never puts someone in the OR or on backup the morning after first call. A hand edit or swap that would create that stretch is flagged. The limit sits under Work-hour limits on Shifts & Rules, where you can change the number.

Are first call and backup call balanced separately?

Yes. Each line has its own fair share, so someone carrying extra backup is not mistaken for someone carrying extra first call, and weekends and holidays count for more on both. Everything also counts toward one overall share that follows each person's FTE, balanced across the whole year.

How often does each anesthesiologist take call?

It depends on how many people share the line. With one first call a day, a group of twelve takes about 1 in 12, two or three first calls a month each, and a group of six about five a month each. In our twelve-person test month everyone took two or three first calls and two or three backup calls. Anyone can ask for fewer, such as no more than three first calls, and part-time people carry a share that follows their FTE.

Can anesthesiologists and CRNAs share one schedule?

Yes. Tags decide who can work which line. Give CRNAs their own tag and a room line that takes it, and physician call stays physician-only. Each line's fair share is worked out among the people who can work it, so nobody is compared with the wrong group.

How do call swaps work?

An anesthesiologist offers a call or an OR day from My Schedule to a colleague who can work it, and can ask for one of theirs in exchange. The colleague accepts, then the scheduler approves, and both move and lock. A trade that would double-book someone is flagged before anyone agrees to it.

Can we bring in the schedule we already keep?

Usually. The importer reads a common spreadsheet layout: one sheet per month, shifts down the left, names in the cells. Imported shifts count toward fairness from the first month, and Generate fills only the gaps. If your spreadsheet looks different, generate the month and change the cells you need by hand.