Virtual scheduling. A 21st-century approach to staffing.

Nursing professionals have been aware of the management challenges associated with hospital scheduling and staffing for years. However, today's changing work force, advances in technology, increased financial pressures, and regulatory oversight have put the scheduling process on health care's strategic agenda. Virtual staffing is the optimization of front-to-back hospital processes, integrating traditionally disparate systems to provide prospective and informed decisions about resource planning.