May Your Holiday Scheduling for Nurses Be Merry and Bright

October 16, 2020

While employees can be pre-scheduled for all holidays based on previous year schedules, Schedule360 can also be configured to release holiday scheduling periods early to allow nurses the ability to plan travel.

Nurse holding a tablet smiling.

While the holidays are known as the most wonderful time of the year, for nurses and other health care workers, it can also be one of the busiest and most stressful times of the year. Nurses aren’t always guaranteed to have the holidays off, as the need for patient care doesn’t suddenly disappear simply because it’s a holiday.

“You don’t go into nursing thinking you’ll have every holiday off” Tara Tehan, nurse director and president of the American Nurses Association Massachusetts states, and knows all too well this is common ground for nurses everywhere.

Demands on the scheduling manager can be equally stressful, as nobody wants to be the one to break the news to those who wanted time off but won’t be able to take it.

However, that doesn’t mean holiday scheduling has to be a challenging process. Setting scheduling guidelines and planning in advance can help ensure that your nursing staff will be more prepared, leading to a happier, more stress-free holiday season for everyone.

Preference Module For Nurses

Based on real customer feedback we’ve developed a robust holiday preference module. During the customizable request period, you can require each nurse to submit their preferences for which holidays they want to work in the upcoming year. The results are displayed which allows the nursing schedulers to build holiday schedules with the staff preferences in mind, and at the same time gives them the control to ensure they have adequate and equitable coverage for all holidays.

Schedule in Advance

The ability to pre-schedule all the holidays for the upcoming year has taken a lot of pressure off of nursing managers and schedulers. It gives the nursing staff the transparency they need to plan their life around their work. Your nurses know which nursing shifts are their holiday nursing shifts and can plan accordingly.

Moreover, you can allow nurses to trade a holiday for another holiday so if they don’t like the pre-scheduled holiday they were assigned, they can trade with a co-worker while ensuring the manager/dept. head is not left holding the bag or dealing with the complaints.

Set Guidelines

Establishing a set of clearly defined rules with Schedule360 for your holiday scheduling for nurses is easy and invaluable, especially during the holidays. While it’s up to management to set the rules and guidelines, having a plan in place with everyone on the same page will prepare you for how to handle a higher number of time-off requests during the holidays can be helpful.

With Schedule360, your holiday time-off plan may look something like this:

  • Pre-schedule employees based on previous year’s holiday schedules.
  • Plan in advance.
  • First come, first serve.
  • Stagger the schedule.
  • Keep a float pool of part-timers to fill in when necessary.
  • Offer a holiday pay incentive to entice nurses to pick up shifts.

Configure Time-Off Requests

With Schedule360, the time-off request process can be configured to meet the unique needs of the facility or organization. Annual vacation requesting guidelines can be set ahead of time so that everyone understands the process, information is organized, and it is all easily accessible to schedulers.

Schedule360 allows nurse administrators and schedulers the unique ability to plan ahead for the holidays and configure the process to meet the unique needs of your unit. By enabling nurses to plan ahead and have their requests approved allows them the ability to make necessary travel arrangements, prepare for their holiday festivities, and enjoy some well-deserved holiday cheer.

Simplify the Problem and Solution To Your Nurse Scheduling

One way to decrease the chaos and confusion related to holiday time-off mayhem is by utilizing Schedule360’s scheduling software solution.

This simple software solution offers managers the ability to:

  • Standardize your time off request forms.
  • Allow employees the ability to swap shifts.
  • Provide 24/7 access for employees to view schedules and keep track of schedule changes.
  • Transparency in the way you communicate scheduling needs and changes.
  • Account for holiday pay in payroll accounts.
  • Optimize shifts based on credentials.
  • Quickly fill shifts as a result of call-offs.
  • Send out urgent messages regarding last-minute shift needs and filter to reach only those available and qualified.

While holiday scheduling varies by customer type, when it comes to nursing, Schedule360 gives your nursing units the ability to pre-schedule their holidays in hopes of locking down scheduled shifts in advance, and in some cases allowing employers to release holiday schedules early so that staff can better prepare for their holiday.

We can help you manage all of your nurse scheduling needs, including the holidays. Find out for yourself why health systems are praising the streamlined approach we have to nurse scheduling by contacting us today. We can show you a configured demo of our nurse scheduling software so you can see it working exactly how you need it to work for your unit.