How would you implement the following in an emergency department in Thailand, assuming that nurses with higher skill levels can also do the work of lower skill levels

How would you implement the following in an emergency department in Thailand, assuming that nurses with higher skill levels can also do the work of lower skill level

Nurse scheduling in a hospital emergency department: A case study at a Thai university hospital

Specifications

■ The schedule must satisfy the minimum number of nurses required for each job level. However, a position of a lower-level less experienced nurse can be done by a higher-level more experienced nurse, but the position of a higher-level nurse cannot be done by a lower-level nurse due to lack of experience.
■ For each shift, the total number of nurses assigned to work must be the same as the number of nurses required from all nurse levels.
■ The nurses cannot work two consecutive shifts from afternoon shift to night shift and from night shift to morning shift, respectively.
■ The number of working hours per week cannot exceed the maximum number of hours allowed.
■ The maximum number of consecutive working days must not exceed the maximum limit.
■ The number of working days per week must not exceed the maximum limit.
■ The number of working days per month must not exceed the maximum limit.
■ The number of all shifts assigned per month must not exceed the maximum limit.
■ The number of all night shifts assigned per month must not exceed the maximum limit.

Implementation

You can implement the spec above within 20 minutes.

Shift Definitions

We have two shifts, working and day off.

Phase Definitions

Define the following three phases. Note that only a Work shift is allowed for tasks.

Tasks

Define one task.

Phase Variables

Define the following three phase variables. Each variable addresses to morning, afternoon, and night shifts.

Staff Definitions

We define 31 nurses.

Group

We define five skill levels.

Group Set

In order to ensure that the positions of the less experienced lower level nurses can be filled by the more experienced higher level nurses, the group set is defined as follows.

Column Constraints

Row Constraints

Solving Parameters and Solving Time

Solution

Discussion

It is evident that there is a steady shortage of skill level 5 personnel. We presume that some of the figures in the paper may be incorrect.

Load the Example Project File

File → Open Project File from GitHub