Streamline your scheduling process by inviting nurses to block schedule shifts. This guide provides step-by-step instructions to ensure shifts are correctly assigned while considering nurse availability, license status, and facility policies.
Which Shifts are Available to Invite Nurses?
Shifts can only be selected for invitation once a nurse has been chosen, provided their license is active and not expired. Available shifts align with a nurse's availability and facility scheduling rules.
Which Shifts Are Unavailable for Invitation?
You cannot invite a nurse to a shift if the shift:
Has already passed (cannot schedule past shifts).
Conflicts with another confirmed or invited shift (even across different facilities).
Would result in consecutive shifts exceeding work-hour limits.
Would exceed 42.5 hours of confirmed and invited shifts within a pay period if overtime is disabled.
Falls beyond 90 days from the current date.
Starts on or after the day a nurse’s license expires.
Identifying Shift Availability
Determine shift availability through the schedule interface:
Available Shifts – Shown in black text and can be selected.
Selected Shifts – Highlighted in blue after selection.
Confirmed Shifts (Your Facility) – Light blue with a dashed outline, indicating confirmed shifts at your facility.
Confirmed Shifts (Other Facilities) – Shown in red text and cannot be selected.
Unavailable Shifts – Grayed out with an explanation in the calendar legend.
Managing Overtime for Invited Nurses
If your facility has enabled overtime for invited nurses:
Managers receive a warning notification if a shift may result in overtime.
Facility managers can enable overtime from the shift creation screen.
Supervisors cannot enable overtime and will be restricted from scheduling shifts that exceed work-hour limits.
Reviewing & Publishing Block Schedule Shifts
Before finalizing, managers can review all invited shifts and their expiration times. If a shift becomes unavailable during this process, it will not be created, and the system will notify the facility.
Reasons a shift may not be created:
It is no longer available due to overlap, overtime limits, or overworking.
The nurse was suspended.
The nurse was marked as ‘Do Not Return’ at the facility.
Shift Expiration Rules
Shifts with invited nurses expire based on the start time:
Shifts starting in less than 12 hours expire part way through the shift.
Shifts starting in more than 12 hours expire in 12 hours.
Facilities can revoke an invite anytime before expiration, and nurses may still accept shifts even after the start time.
By following these guidelines, facility managers can efficiently invite and manage nurses for block schedule shifts, ensuring compliance with scheduling policies and optimizing workforce planning.