Assign Staff Assign Staff
The Assign Staff window allows a charge nurse or other responsible parties to assign patients to the staff working during a current or future shift. The assignments then appear on the individual's work center as a personalized list of only their patients for the shift. Assignments can be adjusted throughout the day as needs change for the unit. This screen also serves as an alert system allowing you to verify that all patients and staff have been assigned appropriately.
To access the Assign Staff window, click the Assign Staff button on the Hospital Main page. The Assign Staff page is displayed.
Follow the basic process below to complete the care assignment. (Click the links to view detailed instructions for each task):
The Assign Staff window can be viewed by patient or by staff. The default is view is by Patient. To change the view from patient to staff, select Staff in the View By drop-down list.
View by Patient: Upon accessing the Assign Staff page, all patients, including outpatients and ER, who are admitted on or before the displayed date (current date) and are not discharged are displayed. The patient's name, bed/location, patient class and number of staff that are assigned to that patient are displayed. This view allows you to assign staff members to a patient. To find a patient easily, use the letters at the top of the screen to jump to the letter of the alphabet that the patient's last name starts with.
View by Staff: The staff view displays all staff who have patients assigned according to the selected date and shift and according to the staff members that have been selected for assignment. The staff name, staff type, and number of patients that are assigned to that staff member are displayed. This view allows you to assign patients to a staff member.
Upon entering the Assign Staff window, the current date is displayed. If you want to view or set up assignments for a different date, use the calendar button next to the Date field to select a different date.
The Shift drop-down list contains the available shifts that are assigned for the selected date. Select the shift that you want to view or set up assignments for.
Once you have selected the date and shift, click Select Staff located in the gray bar at the top of the screen. The Select Staff window is displayed with all active staff members by staff type for the selected date and shift, which is indicated at the top of the window. To filter the list, you can select a specific staff type or staff member.
To filter by staff type, select the staff type in the Select Type drop-down list. The list is refreshed with a list of staff under that staff type.
To filter by staff member, begin typing the staff name or staff type in the Specific Staff field. The search will display matches found in the staff first name, last name, or staff type. A list of possible matches appears as you type. You can continue typing to narrow down the list. Highlight and click the desired staff member. The list is refreshed with the selected staff member.
Check the boxes of the staff member(s) you want to select, and click Continue. You are returned to the Assign Staff window where you can complete the care assignment either by staff or by patient.
To assign staff to patients, see To assign staff to patients.
To assign patients to a staff member, see To assign patients to a staff member.
These instructions assume you have selected the date, shift and staff for assignment.
Ensure Patient is selected in the View drop-down list.
Click Select Unit if you want to filter the list of patients to include only those patients from specific units. This is used only with the Patient view and is used to display only the non-discharged patients that are in the selected units, (e.g. If you want to view only patients in the Emergency Department, you would select the ED unit). In the Select Unit window, check the boxes of the units whose patients you want to view, and click Continue. You are returned to the Assign Staff window, which now displays only the patients within the units you selected.
In the Assign Staff window, review the list of patients. Each patient displays the patient name, bed/location, patient class, and the number of staff assigned to him or her.
All patients that have no staff assigned have the Add button displayed next to his or her name. Click this button to assign staff to the patient. The Add Staff window is displayed. All staff members who you previously selected to be part of your assignment list for the selected date and shift are displayed.
Check the box(es) of the staff members you want to assign to the patient, and click Save. Once patients have a staff member assigned to them, the Add button next to their name is no longer displayed. If needed, you can add additional staff or remove staff for a patient by using the View Details button. See To add or remove an assignment.
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These instructions assume you have selected the date, shift and staff for assignment.
Select Staff in the View By drop-down list.
In the Assign Staff window, review the list of staff members. Each staff member displays the staff name, staff type, and the number of patients he or she is currently assigned to.
All staff who are not yet assigned to a patient have an Add button displayed next to his or her name. Click this button to add patients to the staff member. The Add Patient window is displayed.
All undischarged patients that have not been assigned to staff are displayed according patient class. To filter the list, you can select the specific patient class or patient name that you want to assign.
To filter by patient class, select the specific patient class in the Patient Class drop-down list. The list is refreshed with a list of patients with that patient class.
To find a patient, begin typing the patient information in the Patient field. You can type letters or numbers. The search will display matches found in the patient first name, last name, date of birth, social security number, medical record number, and previous first, last name, or medical record number, if applicable. A list of possible matches appears as you type. You can continue typing to narrow down the list. Highlight and click the desired patient. The list is refreshed with the selected patient.
When searching by patient name, if you select a patient that has already been assigned, the message, This Patient has already been added to the staff member is displayed.
Check the box next to the patient(s) you want assigned to the staff member, and click Save. Once staff members have a patient assigned to them, the Add button next to their name is no longer displayed. If needed, you can add additional patients or remove patients for a staff member by using the View Details button. See To add or remove an assignment.
The View Details button, available in both the patient and staff views, allows you to view, add, and remove specific care assignments.
When viewing by patient, you can click the View Details button if you want to see all the staff members assigned to the patient including the staff name and staff type. This information displays below the patient information.
When viewing by staff, the View Details displays all the patients that the staff member is assigned to including the patient name, bed number, and patient class. This information displays below the staff member information. (See Figure 1.1 below.)
Click the View Details button located on the right-hand side of the patient or staff member, depending on your view.
Use the add and remove buttons as needed:
To assign additional patients or staff, click the Add button. This process is the same as when you made your first assignment for the patient/staff member.
To remove patients or staff, click the Remove button next to the patient/staff member you want to remove.
Figure 1.1: Assign Staff screen displayed by selected staff with details shown (using the View Details button)
The View Details button toggles with Hide Details button. Click this button to return to the original view.
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