The EMS Scheduler was created in 2004 while I was working at a local EMS agency in North Carolina. Full time users would submit paper calendars of time off requests while part time users would submit their availability. The next 12 hours would involve shuffling these papers back and forth to try to be fair to all users in approving their requests. After all was said and done, some were satisfied with our solution while others were not. Many times in our struggle the users were correct that this was not ‘fair’ despite our best attempts.
This began the EMS Scheduler. The focus is to provide the most information to the management team so that they can make the best, most fair solution to a complex puzzle. My goal was to provide a quicker turn around time to Time off requests and Shift swaps so that users can plan their lives accordingly.
From the management side, over time conservation and staff satisfaction is a must. You also need a way to contact users for last minute coverage and notification of events. Thus the paging & email system was integrated.
From there a variety of modifications occurred so that you can staff units with a simple 24/48, 24/72, and any other pattern that is need.
The scheduler has now evolved into a dynamic and ever-growing solution that now includes a full continuing education module (with quizzes & con-ed certifications) and credential management (Licenses, Advanced Certifications, Classes and Skills).
Each day the scheduler grows and it will continue to grow with your agency.