NurSchedule

Inspiration

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the many ways in which healthcare systems were under strain-not just in terms of staffing, but also in day-to-day operations. One of our team members shared that their mother, a nurse, still books shifts through a receptionist over the phone. This process is not only time-consuming, but also inefficient and prone to human error. We realized that there was an opportunity to modernize and simplify this system, empowering nurses to manage their own schedules more easily and independently.

What It Does

NurSchedule is a shift management system that allows nurses to book, change, or cancel their shifts using natural language input. Instead of relying on phone calls or static forms, nurses can simply type what they need-for example, "Book me off next Friday" or "Schedule me for Monday evening"-and the system will understand and update their calendar accordingly. This reduces the administrative burden on hospital staff and gives nurses more direct control over their availability.

How We Built It

We developed NurSchedule using the **Next.js** framework for the frontend and **Supabase** for the backend database. All coding was done in **TypeScript** using **Visual Studio Code**. To handle natural language processing, we integrated the **Google Gemini API**, which interprets the user's text input and communicates with the calendar system to make real-time updates. Our goal was to keep the system lightweight, accessible, and user-friendly while leveraging modern technologies to deliver intelligent features.

Challenges We Faced

One of the main technical challenges was connecting the large language model (LLM) to the scheduling system in a way that allows real-time updates without requiring a page refresh. Another complex task was designing a dashboard that combines data from the database and the LLM to generate useful summaries and shift insights. These challenges required significant testing, debugging, and iteration to solve.

Accomplishments We're Proud Of

We are especially proud of successfully integrating natural language scheduling and email notifications using only open-source tools and free APIs. It was rewarding to see a functional system come together that could realistically be used in a healthcare environment. Reaching this milestone with limited resources and time was a major accomplishment for our team.

What We Learned

This project taught us a lot about working collaboratively in a development team. We learned how to plan features using tools like use case diagrams and how to communicate our ideas clearly during brainstorming sessions. We also gained hands-on experience with full-stack development and integrating AI tools into real applications.

What's Next for NurSchedule

Moving forward, we see potential to expand NurSchedule beyond nurses to other healthcare staff, such as lab technicians and administrative personnel. We also plan to add more data points to the dashboard to provide deeper insights into scheduling trends and staffing patterns. Our goal is to continue improving the platform so it can serve as a scalable and intelligent shift management tool for the healthcare industry.

Built With

• gemini
• next.js
• nodemailer
• supabase
• typescript