J Nurs Acad Soc.  1995 Mar;25(1):80-87.

A Development of Decision Support System for Nurse Scheduling

• Choi YS
• Lee ES
• Park JH

Abstract

The critical problem of nurse scheduling in the hospital is determining the day-to-day shift assignments for each nurse for the specified period in a way that satisfies the given requirements of the hospital. As nurse scheduling involves many factors and requirements, manual scheduling requires much time and effort to produce an adequate schedule. A PC-based decision support system, developed in Turbo-C++, for nurse scheduling was introduced. The system is composed of 4 sub-systems: 1) Entering basic information for each nursing unit; 2) Generation of an appropriate initial schedule and revised schedule for a given period, maximally satisfying each nurse's duty requests; 3) Provision of variety of statistical information, and 4) Help messages for each modular function. Icons and a mouse are used for easier graphic user interface and reducing the need for typing efforts. This system can help nurses develop quick and easy schedule generation and allow more time for the patient care.

MeSH Terms

Animals
Appointments and Schedules
Mice
Nursing
Patient Care