An Optimization-Based Prototype for Nurse Assignment

Abstract

Abstract. One of the major problems in the United States health care system is a shortage of nurses. We describe four stages of nurse planning. Our research focuses on the last stage that makes daily decisions on assigning nurses to patients. We develop an information technology (IT) prototype for assigning nurses to patients with the purpose of minimizing excess workload on the nurses. We present the structure of the IT prototype and summarize an underlying optimization model. Finally, we discuss areas of future research