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How do you feel about taking call? Do you love it or hate it? I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who doesn’t have a strong opinion about it. But for most surgical facilities, taking call is just part of the job. We don’t always love it, but we also understand that it’s a vital part of providing patient care.
Having a call team provides many obvious benefits to our patients, but it’s not always fun for the staff that are responsible for covering the call shifts. Long days, late nights, showing up exhausted after a long call case to cover your regularly scheduled shift, or surgeons who take advantage of the call teams to schedule their elective cases can really make taking call a miserable experience sometimes.
Call definitely has its down side. We all know it, and many ORs have good policies in place to prevent using call teams for non-emergent cases and to allow for rest after long shifts. But, there’s one area where many facilities are still lacking – managing call schedules and signing up for call.
Managing call schedules and signing up for call is such a headache!
It’s almost as miserable as working the long call shifts themselves. Whether you’re the manager trying to get the call schedule out, or you’re the team member waiting to sign up, everyone’s unhappy. And why are we still using pencil and paper to do this? Technology has come way too far for us to still be signing up for call like it’s the 1980’s…
There’s a Better Way.
A few months ago, I had the privilege of interviewing James Nideffer for First Case – a podcast that I co-host that deals with all things OR. And if you’re talking about the OR, then you’re going to be talking about call. We had a great discussion with James, and in the course of our conversation, we also talked about how most OR’s are managing call schedules and signing up for call. James, like many other nurse leaders, found the process frustrating and somewhat archaic… why the pencil and paper?
So he did something about it. He created a company that makes a web-based app called The OR Call Scheduler. It is specifically designed to make managing call schedules easier for everyone. There’s nothing to download, no software needed, and it works on any current internet browser. When I asked James about it, he said, “Call is necessary in the hospital. And for management and staff, call is one of the most important things to manage well for staff satisfaction. The OR Call Scheduler removes the frustration of difficult call sign ups, providing an efficient, easily-trackable way for creating call schedules and managing shift changes.”
The headache from managing call schedules can be a thing of the past.
The OR Call Scheduler is incredibly easy to use. James set me up with an account to try it out, and I was able to figure it out and use it very quickly. It’s also very versatile, with endless template options for the various call shifts needed in a busy OR. I was definitely impressed with how James took his frustration with OR call schedules and turned it into an efficient, workable solution that everyone in the OR can appreciate. Where it normally would have taken 2-3 weeks to finalize a call schedule with paper and pencil, it now only takes 2-3 days with The OR Call Scheduler.
All of this adds tremendous value by giving us more time to focus on the main reason we’re in the OR – taking care of patients and doing surgery. But what about the cost? The OR Call Scheduler is only $50/month after a 6-month free trial, with no charge to staff members and no limit to the number of staff members per department. It’s really a steal for any department looking for a better way to manage call schedules.
Here’s a quick breakdown of key features, if you like lists better:
- Staff can sign up for call on any computer, tablet or mobile device or managers can assign call shifts as needed.
- Staff can make their call available to other staff members and shift trade notifications are sent to ensure accountability.
- Reminder notifications are sent to staff the day before a call shift by text message or email.
- Managers have flexibility to customize the call schedule to fit the needs of any OR, with no limit on the number of call calendars or staff members on your staff.
- Significantly reduces the amount of time it takes to prepare a call schedule.
- No need to download any app, the software works on all mobile and computer browsers.
- Front desk staff can print call sheets with shift and contact information for nursing supervisors or others needing to contact on call staff.
One of my goals with this blog is to let you know when I find things that will make your life easier. I definitely think that The OR Call Scheduler is one of those things. Save yourself the headache, frustration, and stress of managing call schedules the way it’s always been done and give it a try. With a 6 month free trial, you really don’t have anything to lose, except the pencil and paper…
Until next time,
Melanie
