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Creating a roster in PlanMyRounds is a guided, four-step process. You set the dates, the shifts, the team, and the rules — the engine does the rest.
Only admins can create rosters.

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Before you begin

A quick checklist before opening the wizard:
  • Shift templates for your department are set up.
  • All doctors who could be on duty are added to your team.
  • Any leave requests for this period have been approved. The engine only respects leave that is already Approved when generation starts.

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Open the wizard

Go to Duty Plans in the sidebar and select Create New Plan. The wizard walks you through four steps.

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Step 1 — Period and details

1

Set the dates

Choose a Start Date and End Date for the roster. Use the Next Week or Next Month quick buttons to save time.
2

Name it (optional)

Enter a custom roster name so it’s easy to find later — for example, Cardiology — June 2026.

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Step 2 — Shift configuration

Choose which shifts to include and how many doctors each shift needs per day. You can either:
  • Apply one shift pattern to every day of the week — fastest, good for stable rotations.
  • Use a different pattern for different days — useful if weekends or specific weekdays need different cover.

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Step 3 — Team selection

Pick the doctors who should be part of this roster. Filter by department or pod to quickly find the right group. As you add doctors, PlanMyRounds runs a live coverage check. If you don’t have enough doctors to cover all the shifts across the full period, a warning appears.
Include a few extra doctors as a buffer. It gives the engine room to balance workload fairly and absorb unexpected absences.

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Step 4 — Scheduling rules

Set the rules that govern how the engine assigns duties: For a deeper look at how each rule is applied, see Roster constraints.

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Generate the roster

When you’ve finished step 4, select Generate. The engine runs in the background — you’ll usually have a draft within a minute. Once it’s done, you’re taken straight to the roster detail page.

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If generation fails

If the engine cannot find a valid schedule that satisfies every rule, the roster shows a Failed status with the reason. Common causes:
  • Not enough doctors to cover the required headcount.
  • Rules are too tight — for example, max consecutive days set too low.
  • Too much approved leave in the period, leaving no one available on certain days.
Adjust the inputs (add more doctors, loosen a rule, or shorten the period) and try again.

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Next steps

Review and publish

Check coverage and share the roster with your team.

Make manual edits

Adjust assignments before or after publishing.