Thomas W. Loehfelm MD, PhD, Presenter: Founder, Panorad

Eleza Tema Golden MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Robert John Hosker MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

A simple algorithm is able to fairly and rapidly distribute call shifts among a large cohort of residents, taking in to account complex scheduling requirements and even satisfying personal requests for call-free periods of time. Freeing chief residents from the burdensome task of scheduling preserves valuable time and energy that is better spent on more meaningful work and residency administration.

Generating a resident schedule for an entire academic year is a daunting task, one that is compounded at a large academic institution. Chief residents strive to satisfy the personal requests of other residents for specific weekends free from call, the requirements of other components of the schedule that might block a resident from call eligibility, and the requirements of ACGME and other governing bodies which limit who can take call when.

We evaluated the scheduling requirements of our particular program, and developed an algorithm to automatically and fairly distribute call shifts among our large resident cohort. We divided our call responsibilities in to 11 categories, specified which classes were eligible for call, which varies throughout the academic year, inputted days when specific residents were blocked from call due to existing schedule constraints, and took in to account requests from each resident for specific call-free time periods.

We developed an algorithm that systemically stepped through the 1000+ call shifts one-by-one, and at each step generated a list of residents eligible for that call shift. The algorithm calculated how many call shifts each eligible resident had already been assigned so far, and then chose randomly one of those eligible residents with the least number of already-assigned call shifts to work the current shift in question. This process was implemented in Microsoft Access, a program available in most versions of Microsoft Office, and required only 30 lines of code to implement. It was able to assign >99% of the required call shifts automatically and in approximately 60 seconds, leaving only a few shifts left for the chief residents to assign manually.

Loehfelm, T, Golden, E, Hosker, R, ROBO-CHIEF: A Simple Algorithm to Automatically and Fairly Distribute Call Shifts among a Large Resident Cohort at a Large Academic Institution with Complicated Scheduling Requirements.  Radiological Society of North America 2014 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, - ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2014/14015265.html