ICU scheduling software for intensivist weeks and nights

How a month comes together for a critical care group

Take a group of six intensivists covering two ICU teams, and four nocturnists. The ICU preset starts with two lines: ICU Week, a block that runs Monday to Sunday for intensivists, and ICU Night, 7p to 7a every night for nocturnists. ICU Week starts with one person on it, so a group with two teams sets People needed to two. February 2027 starts on a Monday, so it holds four ICU weeks and 28 nights: eight intensivist weeks and 28 night shifts. Each carries fairness points: an ICU week counts 1 for each weekday and 1.5 for each weekend day, 8 for the week, and a night counts 1.5, 2 on a weekend and 2.5 on a holiday. Change any of it on Shifts & Rules, or add a line such as a step down or consult service, 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 person 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 six nights. In our test month, one intensivist took the third week as vacation, another had a conference on a Thursday and Friday, a nocturnist asked for a weekend off, and another asked to work a particular Saturday. 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. Nobody covers two ICU weeks in a row unless a week would otherwise go uncovered or someone's time off or request needs it. Evening out the load is never the reason. In the test month four intensivists covered one week and two covered two, each with a week off between, and nothing was left unfilled. Left as single nights, ICU Night spreads out each nocturnist's nights, which here came to seven each in runs of two or three, about a week apart. Groups whose nocturnists work 7 on, 7 off set ICU Night to week-long blocks instead: in the same month with two nocturnists, they alternated weeks exactly. A week that must not move can be locked, and every later Generate leaves it alone.

The Report shows each person's weeks, nights, weekend days, holidays and points against a fair share, prorated for anyone part time. Each line's share is worked out among the people who can work it, so intensivists are compared with intensivists and nocturnists with nocturnists. The four nocturnists came out exactly even. The two intensivists who covered two weeks came out over their share and the other four under, and later months even it out, because fairness is balanced across the year, not one month at a time. Requests come first, and fairness evens out what is left.

Months rarely end on a Sunday. When one ends midweek, the next month's schedule keeps the rest of that ICU week with the intensivists who started it, unless they asked for those days off. When it looks right, Publish. Everyone sees their weeks and nights on a phone, can subscribe to them in Google Calendar, iPhone or Outlook, and trades a night or a week in the app with the scheduler giving the final yes. Name each holiday the same way every year, and whoever covered Christmas last year is steered away from it this year. The part that used to take evenings, fitting eight ICU weeks and 28 nights around everyone's requests, is the part the generator does.

Questions ICU / Critical Care groups ask

How do I build an ICU schedule for intensivists?

Pick the ICU preset in the setup wizard, add your intensivists and nocturnists, and set how many ICU teams you staff each week. Open requests so everyone can mark vacation and days off, then click Generate to fill every ICU week and night around them. Check the Report, change any cell by hand, and Publish.

Can intensivists work 7 on, 7 off?

Yes. To tie someone to exact dates, add a repeating pattern on ICU Week with their first on day, 7 on and 7 off or any other split. They are never put on the ICU in a week off. Without a pattern, nobody covers two weeks in a row unless a week would otherwise go uncovered or someone's time off or request needs it. Lock any week that must not move.

How do I schedule nocturnists?

ICU Night, 7p to 7a every night, comes with the preset and takes only the nocturnist tag, so only your nocturnists are on it and their share is worked out among themselves. Left as single nights, each person's nights are spread out. For nocturnists who work in stretches, such as seven on and seven off, set ICU Night to week-long blocks so one person takes each week of nights.

What if our intensivists cover nights themselves?

Give them the nocturnist tag too, and they share ICU Night with anyone else who has it. One person can't hold two assignments on the same date unless you allow it, so nobody is put on a night inside their own ICU week. If your intensivist takes night call during their own week, list ICU Night's code under May overlap with on ICU Week.

What happens to an ICU week that runs into the next month?

The next month's schedule knows who started that week and keeps the rest of it with them, unless one of them asked for those days off. Lock it if it has to stay put no matter what.

Can intensivists trade weeks and nights?

Yes. Someone offers a night or an ICU week 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 ICU NPs and PAs be on the same schedule?

Yes. Tags decide who can work which line. Add an APP line for the ICU with its own tag, or give APPs the tag of a line they share with physicians. Each line's fair share is worked out among the people who can work it, so APPs are compared with APPs and intensivists with intensivists.