Scheduling for a small emergency medicine group
Updated October 8, 2026 · 2 min read
Capillary lets one part-time scheduler build a month of ED shifts in the browser: collect requests before a due date, assign shifts with role, overlap and minimum rest checked on every save, and publish once every shift is covered. Everyone then gets their shifts in their phone calendar and can trade under the same checks.
When the schedule is one person's side job
If you build your group's schedule part time, you probably know the routine: requests by text and email, a spreadsheet for the month, and every check done by eye. Did anyone get a night and then a day shift? Is Saturday's physician also on at the other hospital? Who has had the most weekends?
How it works for a small group
- 1
Set up the department
Create an account and confirm your email. Name the department, set its timezone and minimum rest, and add physicians and APPs by hand or from a CSV.
- 2
Collect requests
Set a due date. Clinicians send day requests, time off and weekly preferences before it, and you see them beside each name while you assign.
- 3
Lay out and assign
Add each shift for a date range, then pick a person for each one. Every save checks role, overlap and minimum rest, across the start and end of the month and against shifts at another site.
- 4
Publish
Drafts stay private. A month publishes only when every shift is covered, with a record of who published it and when.
- 5
After publishing
Everyone sees their shifts in their phone calendar through a calendar link. Trades go through the same checks, and you decide whether they need your approval.
Worked example: six physicians, one ED
Say six physicians cover one ED with three 8-hour shifts a day: 07:00 to 15:00, 15:00 to 23:00 and 23:00 to 07:00. November 2026 has 30 days, 9 of them on a weekend.
| Count | Month | Each, if split evenly |
|---|---|---|
| Shifts | 90 | 15 |
| Hours | 720 h | 120 h |
| Night shifts | 30 | 5 |
| Weekend shifts | 27 | 4 or 5 |
Set the minimum rest to 12 hours, then put one physician on the night of 11 November and the evening of 12 November. The night ends at 07:00 and the evening starts at 15:00, so the save stops with a message like "Evening shift: less than 12 hours of rest from Night shift on Nov 11."
Before you publish, the workload counts show each person's shifts, nights and weekend shifts, so a partner at 6 weekend shifts stands out next to one at 3.
- 1
Schedule published
Your scheduling app publishes your shifts as a calendar feed.
- 2
Calendar link
A private address, usually starting with https or webcal.
- 3
Your calendar
Google, Apple or Outlook subscribes and refreshes it on its own timetable.
What it does not do yet
- It does not build the month for you. You choose who works each shift, and Capillary checks each choice.
- It does not run payroll or connect to your EHR.
- It is built for ED physicians and APPs, not nurse or hospitalist schedules.
- There is no app-store app; everyone uses the browser and the calendar link.
Try it
Open the demo for a full sample month from a fictional department; it needs no account. To start your own, create an account or sign in. No credit card or patient data is needed, and the ED scheduling page lists what's included.
Common questions
- Do we need to share patient data?
- No. The schedule uses staff names, email addresses and roles only.
- Who approves trades?
- You decide. With approval on, trades wait for you; with it off, a trade that passes every check goes through once both clinicians agree.
- One of our physicians also works at another hospital. Is that checked?
- Yes, if that hospital's department schedules in Capillary. Their published shifts there count in the rest and overlap checks, and they see both sites in one list.
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.