Thank you to NurseGrid for partnering with my on this post about their awesome product. All opinions are honest and my own. Please see my disclaimer page for further information.
Alright guys, I found this App for nurses and really felt like it would be good to share it with y’all.
One of the biggest headaches at work is scheduling. Flexing down, flexing up, seeing who I’m working with, trying to switch shifts, etc. There is this online system we use, but it’s pretty difficult to navigate and I can’t communicate with people through it. Some units still use paper scheduling (eek!) or other dated scheduling services. I also can’t use it on my phone, which doesn’t really help when I get a text to see if I can switch with someone. I also hate loading my work scheduled into iCal, especially when I pick up night shifts.
Soooo… here’s the solution! A free app is called NurseGrid. It was created by nurses (woo hoo!) that get that the scheduling struggle is real. Nurse schedules are not made for standard calendar apps and I appreciate that this is tailored for nurses.
I want to explain some of the best things about the app:
You can add shifts in seconds
It takes way to long to do this with iCal on my phone. And you can add different kinds of shifts (regular, education, meetings, on call, vacation, etc) all at once. There are also day, night, and swing shift options. Note the day and night icons for those of you that work both! Orange = education shift.
You can see who you’re working with
You can click on any shift you’re working and see who you’re working with. (But they must be using the app as well for this to work!)
You can message any colleague
This allows you to message someone without giving them your personal cell phone number. This is especially essential for potlucks.
You can take a pic of your credentials instead of scanning
Scanning credentials is so 2001. You also don’t have to worry about copying it, giving it to someone only for them to lose it, just to copy it again, etc. You guys know what I’m talking about..haha. You can then set a reminder for when it expires.
You can add your schedule from multiple worksites
So if you work PRN at one hospital and full time at another, you can color code locations. It makes it much easier to look at your schedule when you can immediately see where you’re working when.
Basically, I love this thing. I think it’s innovated and customized just for the needs of nurses. It has the potential to make our scheduling lives so much easier.
And it gets even better. They are launching a Manager Portal soon. This will allow the manager/assistant manager to approve shift swaps, message people for extra shifts, notify people when it’s low census, etc. All of this through an app, not a computer program, and it’s directly on your phone. This will streamline the process and keep you from having to log into another program on your computer. Glory be to God.
Negatives… you must have a smartphone for this to work. Your entire unit needs to be utilizing the app to maximize its benefits. Given that most people do have smartphones, I doubt that will be a major issue. It may be a challenge to get the whole group on board, but if your manager or informal leaders on your unit start using it, others will then follow suit.
I don’t know about you, but when I see a well-organized, easy-to-use app on my phone to replace the paper scheduling or difficult to navigate online scheduling systems that can alert people in real time of staffing changes and needs.. I’m geeking out a bit.
If you want to learn more or have some additional questions, check out www.NurseGrid.com! It’s a really well-organized and easy-to-use site.