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Emergency medicine scheduling is a very complex responsibility and is becoming even more complicated. Since there are various groups to juggle within the emergency medicine setting, scheduling is often more complex than pulmonology, OB-GYN or anesthesiology scheduling. There are a number of factors that contribute to ER department schedule complexity, including:
- ER departments are open round-the-clock, seven days a week
- ER departments use locum tenens physicians
- ER departments require better awareness of shift work
- ER departments require more cost-effective scheduling
- ER departments have patient volume ebbs and flows
Creating an effective physician scheduling system requires the implementation of meticulous strategies such as:
1. Measuring Performance
The performance of emergency medicine is greatly based on each physician's performance. Because of this, individual evaluations for measuring physician performance are critical to achieving higher levels of performance. You need to maintain a system that measures both quantity and quality of work as specified in each position's job description. Things you should measure are:
Communication: You should be communicating effective feedback regarding physician performance.
Compliance: Evaluations can help you measure levels of compliance to determine where termination may be necessary and to determine increases in compensation and advancement opportunities.
Development: Measuring performance is important to gain awareness of potential staff and manager opportunities for development and training.
Motivation: Encouraging your doctors to perform at a higher standard and making them aware of how they're contributing to the success of the ER department will help keep them motivated and feel a sense of pride in the work they do.
2. Doctor Management Strategies for Engaging and Retaining More Doctors
You can look to other health systems and hospitals that have been successful with doctor engagement and retention to successfully support and engage your own physicians.
3. Focusing on Your Physicians
Many hospitals focus on their patients first and foremost, as they rightfully should. After all, patient satisfaction is a hospital's ultimate mission, of course. However, physicians are an indispensable part of the equation of providing the best quality of patient care possible. Therefore, some of your energy should really be focused on your physicians. When you take care of your physicians, they take better care of the patients.
4. Using Emergency Doctor Schedule Software
With all of the complexities, it's a good idea to use shift scheduling software to minimize hassles and save time, obtain time off requests, communicate with physicians effectively and allow physicians to switch and trade shifts between each other, pick up shifts and giveaway shifts with just the press of a button.
The more top emergency doctor scheduling strategies you implement — and follow, the more likely you’ll improve physician gratification, patient satisfaction, and hospital operational success. Try one or more of these today.
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