Scheduling Medical Residents to Rotations: Solving the Large-Scale Multiperiod Staff Assignment Problem

Operations Research · 1993 · Volume 41 · Issue 2

Abstract

The resident scheduling problem is a specific case of the multiperiod staff assignment problem where individuals are assigned to a variety of tasks over multiple time periods. As in many staffing and training situations, numerous limitations and requirements may be placed on those assignments. This paper presents a procedure for addressing two major problems inherent in the determination of a solution to this type of problem: infeasibilities that naturally occur in the scheduling environment but are obscured by complexity; and the intractable nature of large-scale models with this structure. The procedure developed describes a systematic approach that allows decision makers to resolve system-inherent infeasibilities, and a heuristic based on rounding to develop good feasible solutions to the model. The procedure is illustrated via a case example of resident assignments for teaching and training modules in a university affiliated teaching hospital.

Keywords

education systems, operations: scheduling training experiences, health care, hospitals: scheduling medical residents, programming, integer, heuristics: multiperiod staff assignment problems

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