Emergency Department Scheduling:
A New Year's Review
The beginning of a new year is a good time
to
review policies and procedures, particularly when it comes to
important matters such as scheduling the emergency department.
At C & M, our scheduling team performs
physician scheduling by gathering physician availability. The
available dates or requests for shifts are then submitted to the
scheduling coordinators who match each physician's availability
to our client hospitals' needs.
When the schedules are prepared and open
shifts are identified, the scheduling team contacts physicians
in order to "fill the holes" and take on additional
shifts as needed so that all shifts are covered. This is particularly
challenging during holiday seasons or popular vacation periods
which most physicians would prefer not to have to work.
Upon completion, usually on the 21st day
of the preceding month, printed calendar-style schedules are mailed
to each physician and each hospital emergency department to confirm
the staffing for the coming month. Any changes to the published
schedule are immediately faxed to the hospital when staffing is
altered.
The scheduling department's operations
are supported by C & M's proprietary computer program which
tracks the availability of each physician and identifies back-up
physicians should the need arise.
A scheduling coordinator is available 24
hours a day in the event additional physician coverage is required,
or to cover for any physician who is ill or needs to cancel a
shift.
The success of the scheduling team is based
on communication by all involved, physicians, hospitals, as well
as C & M scheduling team members, with the understanding that
all shifts need to be staffed.
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