Jeroen Bosch hospital shares schedule changes automatically with the right people

Staff scheduling in hospitals for medical departments is a time-consuming activity. Time that departments would much rather spend optimising medical care than on administrative tasks such as creating a correct schedule. For a few years now, the Department of Orthopaedics at Jeroen Bosch Hospital has been using Rostering, the online scheduling app for medical specialists, Physician Associates and support staff previously known as ‘MedSpace’.

“It saves us a lot of work,” says Conny Douw, orthopaedic surgeon at Jeroen Bosch Hospital in ’s-Hertogenbosch. “Especially because all the changes in this online and real-time application are immediately shared with the right people.”

Surgery hours, Operating Theatre (OT) or free 

Conny Douw is one of ten orthopaedists at the Orthopaedics Department at her hospital. “When I started here 23 years ago, we still had a schedule in Excel, very neatly put together by a colleague. We gradually added formulas, making it more complicated and less clear. In terms of content, it’s not very exciting. We only have a few options: surgery hours, Operating Theatre (OT) or free. The main problem was that we were working with all kinds of versions, and had to save these on the ‘mother disk’, so everyone could have access. Sometimes people would look at the wrong version or share the wrong version with their colleagues.”

In 2014, Rostering was launched at Jeroen Bosch Hospital for the available evening and weekend shifts of doctors. “I discovered, indirectly, that we could also use Rostering for all weekday activities. Then I met people who were already doing that and they were very excited. Shortly afterwards we began using it for our own schedule. It was immediately effective. Of course, Rostering can do so much more than Excel and it’s very user-friendly. It has a lot more functions than what I use it for, but with our relatively small department we don’t need that right now.”

I used to make changes in Excel and then I had to remember to notify that colleague. Now I can be confident that the change is communicated immediately”

Online, real-time and maximum insight 

What Conny likes the most is that any schedule changes are automatically shared with the right people. “I used to make changes in Excel and then I had to remember to notify that colleague, for example to tell them a consultation was scheduled or cancelled. Now I can be confident that this change is communicated, as Rostering automatically forwards it to the right person. You can also link the schedule to your calendar. If you have forgotten to do that, or don’t want to link it to your calendar, everything is clearly displayed in the app – very convenient.”

Her colleagues are also very satisfied with Rostering, according to Conny: “It’s a vehicle to streamline planning, so that everyone is aware of each other’s activities at any time of the day. It provides maximum insight. As colleagues, we can see each other’s work calenders, any time of the day. This is especially useful, because we work at multiple locations. Recapping the main advantages: it’s online, available in real-time and gives everyone maximum insight.”

Nothing is too much

There’s more, underlines Conny. “Rostering has a very good helpdesk that is always available during office hours to help with inventive solutions. There are always new tips and tricks to make planning and adjusting the schedule even more convenient.”

Conny doesn’t hesitate for one second when asked if she would recommend Rostering to other departments. “One hundred percent! I also sometimes can’t believe that people still create schedules in Excel… Of course, even with an app like Rostering, there are sometimes pieces of the puzzle that you have to fit in yourself, but the many functionalities and user-friendliness make everything much better and easier. I also find that everyone in my department who uses Rostering is equally enthusiastic.”

Rostering is part of MedSpace, an innovative schedule application.

Would you like to find out more?

Curious about how Rostering can help you gain more insight and overview when scheduling medical staff? Contact us! We would be happy to tell you more about it.