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Finding good nurse duty schedules: a case study

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Abstract

Constructing duty schedules for nurses at large hospitals is a difficult problem. The objective is usually to ensure that there is always sufficient staff on duty, while taking into account individual preferences with respect to work patterns, requests for leave and financial restrictions, in such a way that all employees are treated fairly. The problem is typically solved via mixed integer programming or heuristic (local) search methods in the operations research literature. In this paper the problem is solved using a tabu search approach as a case study at Stikland Hospital, a large psychiatric hospital in the South African Western Cape, for which a computerized decision support system with respect to nurse scheduling was developed. This decision support system, called NuRoDSS (short for Nurse Rostering Decision Support System) is described in some detail.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Mathematics Division, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, Republic of South Africa

    M. J. Bester & I. Nieuwoudt

  2. Department of Logistics, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, Republic of South Africa

    Jan H. Van Vuuren

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  1. M. J. Bester
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  2. I. Nieuwoudt
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  3. Jan H. Van Vuuren
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Correspondence to Jan H. Van Vuuren.

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Bester, M.J., Nieuwoudt, I. & Van Vuuren, J.H. Finding good nurse duty schedules: a case study. J Sched 10, 387–405 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10951-007-0035-7

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