An information processing system for scheduling of nurse assignments by head nurses

Implementation of the nurse scheduling task is a difficult problem for head nurses because it is a multi-period, multi-criteria decision-making problem with the condition that it meet the requirements of the patients, the hospital administration, and the staff nurses. There have been many research studies done using the following methods: cyclic method, mathematical modelling method, heuristic method and expert system approach. Without a theoretical review of head nurses' problem-solving processes, the limitations of inflexible computational modelling in comparison to the complex, real problem-solving process must be recognised. This research applies the cognitive scientific approach which uses protocol analysis and computer simulation. It will be used as basic data for a decision support system which will be constructed as a result of protocol analysis (collect data, analyse the head nurses' problem-solving process) and cognitive process simulation. Research in phase II will develop the following research lists: first; construction of databases including each nurse's major attributes as a data field, second; development of schedule optimising modules, and third; development of user interface for communication between head nurses and staff nurses using the system.