ONS Connect - April 2008 - (Page 13)

[One nurse’s PersPective] How Does Your Institution Help You Maintain Work-Life Balance? Self-Scheduling Enables Staff to Pick Shifts That Work for Them Stephanie Downton, RN, BSN Stephanie Downton, RN, BSN, a staff nurse in hematology-oncology at Indiana University Hospital in Indianapolis, describes her institution’s self-scheduling program. O ur unit’s self-scheduling program increases staff morale and helps us balance work and life by giving us more control over the days we work. This is how it works: A year’s worth of blank monthly schedules are placed in a binder, where staff can write their scheduling requests throughout the year. On a specified date, the shift coordinator removes the next month’s schedule and calculates shortages or overages per day. Each staff member then has the option of switching from an overage day to a shortage day. If some days remain short-staffed, the shift coordinator fills the gaps as best as possible with existing staff. If needed, she might use the hospital resource pool or post openings on the online bid shift program. One challenge with the self-scheduling program is filling undesirable shifts such as weekends and holidays. Our solution is that the shifts are rotated so that each nurse is required to work every third weekend and every other holiday. For instance, this year I worked Christmas and New Year’s Day and had Thanksgiving off. Next year I will have Christmas and New Year’s Day off but work on Thanksgiving. The program is dynamic and ever changing. The shift coordinator is always willing to make revisions based on staff consensus, and she surveys the staff annually to make sure the program is meeting our needs. My unit management offers so much support to help me do the things that are important to me, whether it is at work, at home, or in the community. For example, when I returned from maternity leave, I was concerned about my changing scheduling needs. My unit’s clinical manager said, “We will do whatever we can to be sure you’re the mother you want to be.” I was almost brought to tears; I had never felt so supported by management. My experiences with our management team and self-scheduling have made me a better nurse and a loyal employee. ✱ APRIL 2008 ONS CONNECT 13

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ONS Connect - April 2008

ONS Connect - April 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In Work-Life Balance A Year in the Life—Month Four Web Connect Capitol Connection Notice Nursing Now Enhance Your Professionalism in Your Daily Practice Help Patients Integrate Yoga Into Cancer Care Caregiver Care Epigenetics Offers New Options for Cancer Diagnosis Working for You Calendar of Events Staying on Top

ONS Connect - April 2008

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