AN INTEGRATED METHODOLOGY TO SOLVE STAFFING, SCHEDULING AND BUDGETING PROBLEMS IN A NURSING DEPARTMENT.
Contributors: University of Pittsburgh.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 390
Subjects: Engineering, Industrial.
Description: This research addresses the three related problems of staffing, scheduling and budgeting in the hospital nursing department. A decision support system has been developed and implemented on a microcomputer in order to provide hospitals with an efficient and inexpensive solution to these problems. This decision support system is comprised of three integrated subsystems: a Scheduling System and a Staffing System which solve respectively the scheduling and staffing problems, and a Report Generator which facilitates the solution of the budgeting problem.

The Scheduling System is based on a mathematical model which optimizes a multiple objective function which incorporates measures of quality of care and nurses' satisfaction. This is subject to restrictions on the length of sequential periods of work, and the assigning of nurses according to a specific policy regarding the distribution of weekends and weekdays off as well as consideration of shift rotation, vacation, holidays and special requests for days off. Given the complexity and size of the problem, a heuristic was proposed to identify a near optimal solution. The Scheduling System was applied to three patient units from two different hospitals. The result were a 42 day schedules for each patient unit which provided a better coverage on the units than the schedules currently determined through the use of manual systems. The Scheduling System has the additional benefit of satisfying all of the imposed restrictions, which was not the case with the manual systems.

The Staffing System is based on the methodology currently used by one hospital as it was applied to one patient unit. The advantage of this system is a faster and more accurate determination of the daily staffing than could be accomplished previously through a manual operation.

The Report Generator is based on the information generated by the above two systems. It facilitates the budgetary decision by producing a number of reports to identify patterns in personnel utilization, trends in the demand for nursing care and overstaffing and understaffing problems. It also provides insight into actions for the correction of these latter situations.

The decision support system developed in this research has received acceptance by nurses as a realistic alternative method for solving the scheduling, staffing and budgeting problems, not only because it is easy and inexpensive to use, but also because it produces better schedules in much a shorter time. It also provides fast and reliable staffing, and useful reports to support the budgetary decision.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, Section: B, page: 1877.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, 1984.

School code: 0178.