Radiology scheduling software for reading, overnights and IR call

How a month comes together for a radiology group

Take a group of ten diagnostic radiologists and three interventional radiologists. The Radiology preset starts with four lines: Day Reading, 8a to 5p on weekdays; Evening Swing, 5p to 11p every day; Overnight Week, a Monday to Sunday run of nights from 11p to 8a; and IR Call Week, from the IR pool. Day Reading starts with two seats, so a group reading with six on weekdays sets People needed to six. February 2027 starts on a Monday, so it holds 20 weekdays and four full weeks: 120 reading days, 28 swings, four overnight weeks and four IR weeks. Each carries fairness points: a reading day counts 1, a swing 1.5 on a weekday and 2 on a weekend, each overnight 2, and an IR call week 1 for each weekday and 1.5 for each weekend day. Change any of it on Shifts & Rules, or add a line such as mammography, a weekend reading shift or an IR day, 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 radiologist 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 two swings. In our test month, one radiologist took the second week as vacation, another had a conference on a Thursday and Friday, a third asked for a Friday to Sunday off, and an interventionalist asked for a Monday and Tuesday off. 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 reads or takes a swing during their own overnight week, and because the overnights run 11p to 8a and the preset turns on a 12-hour limit on continuous work, nobody is on the reading list the morning after the last night of the week. Overnight Week prefers at least two weeks between one person's overnight weeks, and earlier months count. In the test month each diagnostic radiologist read 12 days and took two or three swings, four of them took the month's overnight weeks, no interventionalist had two IR weeks in a row, and nothing was left unfilled. Over six months, everyone took two or three overnight weeks, never closer than three weeks apart, and nobody read the morning after a week of nights.

The Report shows each radiologist's reading days, swings, overnights, 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 IR call is compared only among the interventionalists. The four who took an overnight week came out over their share for the month and the other six 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.

When it looks right, Publish. Everyone sees their reading days, swings and overnights on a phone, can subscribe to them in Google Calendar, iPhone or Outlook, and trades a shift or a week in the app with the scheduler giving the final yes. Name each holiday the same way every year, and whoever worked Thanksgiving last year is steered away from it this year. The part that used to take evenings, fitting 156 assignments around everyone's requests and the overnights, is the part the generator does.

Questions Radiology groups ask

How do I make a radiology call schedule?

Pick the Radiology preset in the setup wizard, add your radiologists with a diagnostic or IR tag, and set how many reading seats you staff each weekday. Open requests so everyone can mark vacation and days off, then click Generate to fill reading, swing, overnights and IR call around them. Check the Report, change any cell by hand, and Publish.

Can it keep a radiologist off the reading list after overnights?

Yes. Set up with the Radiology preset, Overnight Week runs 11p to 8a and the group starts with a 12-hour limit on continuous work, so the generator never puts someone on Day Reading the morning after their last night. 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.

How are overnight weeks spaced?

Overnight Week carries a rule that prefers at least two weeks between one person's overnight weeks, and weeks from earlier months count, so the spacing holds from one month to the next. Change the number of weeks on Shifts & Rules, or set the rule to Must so it is never broken.

Can IR call be scheduled separately?

Yes. IR Call Week takes only the IR tag, so only your interventionalists are on it, and their fair share is worked out among themselves. If they also read, give them the diagnostic tag too. One person can't hold two assignments on the same date unless you allow it, so list Day Reading's code under May overlap with on IR Call Week if your IR radiologist reads while on call.

Can everyone enter requests before the schedule is built?

Yes. Open requests for the month with a due date, and everyone with an email address gets a note. Each radiologist marks vacation, conference days, days they would rather be off or would like to work, and how many swings or shifts they want. Email a reminder writes only to whoever has not entered yet.

How do shift swaps work?

A radiologist offers a swing, a reading day or a 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.