Should every trade need the scheduler's approval?

That is your group's choice. Automatic checks catch rest and overlap problems either way, and approval adds a person's look at coverage and fairness. In Capillary, schedulers decide whether trades need their approval.

Can a physician pick up an APP shift?

Only if your policy allows it. A role check keeps each shift with the kind of clinician the coverage plan calls for.

Do the same rest rules apply to a trade as to the original schedule?

Yes. A trade creates a new schedule for both people, so it needs the same checks: at least 11 hours of rest, no overlaps and no long runs of nights.

ED shift swap policy: what to check before a trade

Updated October 8, 2026 · 2 min read

Before a trade is agreed, check that the person taking the shift has the right role for it, has no overlapping shift at any site, still gets enough rest before and after it (at least 11 hours, the EU minimum), and does not end up with a backward rotation or too many nights in a row. In a two-way swap, check both people.

What to check on every trade

Checks for a shift trade
Check	What to look for	Why
Role	A physician shift goes to a physician and an APP shift to an APP	Coverage stays as planned
Overlap	No other shift at the same time, at this site or another	One person cannot cover two places
Rest	At least 11 h before and after the new shift	The EU minimum and the floor experts recommend
Runs of nights	No more nights in a row than your group allows; a 2020 consensus suggests 3	Estimated risk rises with each extra night
Direction	No new backward step, such as an evening followed by a day shift	Backward steps create short turnarounds
Total hours	Weekly or monthly hours stay within your group's limit	ACEP asks schedulers to watch total hours

A trade that fails the rest check

Physician A wants to give away Tuesday's evening shift, 15:00 to 23:00. Physician B offers to take it, but B is working Monday's night shift, 23:00 to 07:00.

Physician B's shifts if the trade goes through: a night from 23:00 to 07:00, then an evening from 15:00 to 23:00 the same day. That leaves 8 hours off, 3 hours short of the 11-hour line.

The published schedule passed every check, but this trade would add a quick return and a backward step. A policy that checks only role and overlap would let it through. Physician C, who is off on Monday and Wednesday, would have more than 24 hours off on each side of the shift.

Rules to write into the policy

Who can trade with whom: the same role, and privileges at the site where the shift is.
Give-aways and swaps: whether a shift can be given away outright or only swapped for another.
Approval: whether the scheduler approves each trade, or trades that pass every check go through on their own.
A cutoff: how close to the shift a trade can still be made, and who covers if the taker cannot.
Holiday credit: whether a traded holiday shift moves the holiday count to the person who works it. See holiday schedule rotation.
The record: the published schedule should always show who is actually working.

In Capillary scheduling, clinicians give away or swap published shifts, and rest and overlap are checked before anyone agrees. Schedulers choose whether trades need their approval. More on that in shift trades in Capillary.

Common questions

Should every trade need the scheduler's approval?: That is your group's choice. Automatic checks catch rest and overlap problems either way, and approval adds a person's look at coverage and fairness. In Capillary, schedulers decide whether trades need their approval.
Can a physician pick up an APP shift?: Only if your policy allows it. A role check keeps each shift with the kind of clinician the coverage plan calls for.
Do the same rest rules apply to a trade as to the original schedule?: Yes. A trade creates a new schedule for both people, so it needs the same checks: at least 11 hours of rest, no overlaps and no long runs of nights.

Build your ED schedule with rest checked on every save.

Capillary checks role, overlapping shifts and rest, including shifts at other sites, before anything is published or traded.

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