Centralized Scheduling of Nursing Staff: A Rapid Review of the Literature

Background: Centralized scheduling of nursing professionals is regarded as an effective strategy for optimizing workforce allocation and mitigating critical staffing shortages. The aim of this review is to (1) determine the effect of centralized scheduling on unit productivity (ie, overtime, contract labor, and floating), time savings for managers, and staff perceptions and retention and (2) discuss current approaches in the implementation of centralized scheduling in inpatient hospital settings.

Methods: This rapid review of the evidence follows methodological guidance from the Cochrane Rapid Reviews Methods Group. Four electronic bibliographic databases were searched for research published from 2013 to 2023. A total of 446 articles were identified and screened, with a total of 12 articles included. Studies and reports were included if they addressed the operational question and were conducted in an inpatient hospital within the United States.

Results: Case study reports describe improved labor productivity (ie. less overtime and less contracted labor), more consistently balanced staffing of frontline nursing professionals, less staff reassignment (ie, floating), and increased satisfaction and time savings for managers after transitioning to a centralized scheduling model. These findings were consistent with a computational, experimental study that found centralized scheduling resulted in less labor costs and fewer undesirable shifts from the frontline nurse's point of view compared to decentralized scheduling.