This tool is designed to help charge nurses visualize assignments and workload, but it does not
replace clinical judgment. All assignments should always be reviewed and adjusted based on real-time
patient safety, staffing skill mix, and unit conditions. Use this tool as decision support only.
When you first open the app, choose the side of the unit you are working on (A-side or D-side). After
selecting the side, choose whether you are working Day shift or Night shift. The workspace for Day
and Night looks the same, but Night shift includes a way to mark who is in charge, since charge
nurses usually carry lighter assignments.
Start by entering the names of the nurses working the shift. Each nurse is expected to carry four
rooms when fully staffed. If someone calls in sick, use the Called in sick checkbox beside their
name. As soon as it is checked, that nurseโs name will be crossed out and all of their rooms will
immediately move to Unassigned, so you can safely re-distribute them. A replacement name field will
appear automatically, allowing you to enter a new nurse if coverage becomes available. Unchecking
Sick brings the nurse back, but does not automatically give rooms back.
Each room can be flagged to reflect workload. Critically ill / Modified patients are shown in red and
represent the highest acuity. These patients require the most attention and are generally not moved
during rebalancing unless a nurse has more than one critically ill patient. ++ Violence is shown in
purple and highlights safety risk. Total care rooms are shown in blue and require significant
hands-on work. ++ Needs and ++ Tasks are shown in orange and represent frequent requests or frequent
nursing tasks. These colors help you see workload instantly without reading details.
Rooms 320-H, 440-H (A-side) and 720-H, 820-H (D-side) are hallway beds. These beds are usually empty
and easier. When marked Empty,
they are treated as very light workload and are often the first beds used to balance assignments
when someone has a very sick or very heavy patient.
You assign rooms to nurses either by using the dropdown next to the room or by dragging the room box
directly onto a nurse in the Nursing Assignment Summary. Everything updates immediately when you
move a room.
The Balance Meter shows how evenly the workload is distributed. A small spread means assignments are
fairly even. A large spread means someone is carrying much more than others. The balance meter looks
at both how many rooms each nurse has and how heavy those rooms are.
The Suggest Rebalance feature offers ideas only. It will never move a nurseโs only critically ill
patient. Instead, it suggests trading a heavier non-critical room for a lighter room, often using
hallway beds when possible. Suggestions also try to keep rooms physically closer together when
workload impact is similar. You are never required to follow suggestions.
The Deviate feature is used when you are short-staffed. It shows where unassigned rooms could go to
keep things as fair as possible. It does not automatically assign rooms.
If a room is marked LPN / Float appropriate, it will appear as eligible in the LPN Assignment area.
Only eligible rooms can be placed there.
Use Save Today to store the current assignment with the date.
Use Refresh if you ever want to force everything to recalculate. Use Reset only if you want to
completely clear the current shift and start over.
Always review the final assignments carefully. This tool helps you see workload clearly, but you
decide what is safest for your unit.