ROTA MANAGEMENT – Managing Session Types

Creating Session Types in Tempo: Flexible and Protected

Session types are the foundation of your rota system in Tempo. Think of them as labels that define what kind of work each staff member will be doing during their shift, like “GP Standard Session” or “Nurse Smear Clinic.” By creating clear session types, you’ll ensure that both you and your team know exactly what to expect during a given shift. Let’s dive into how to set these up and why they’re important!

 

Why Create Session Types?

Creating specific session types helps organise the different roles and responsibilities your team will cover. It’s essential for reflecting the variety of tasks your staff handle. Each session type clarifies what a staff member is expected to do during a specific shift, so there’s no confusion on the day.

By assigning a session type, you also make it easier for staff to know what’s expected of them at a glance—whether they’re covering a standard clinic, running a specialised session, or managing admin tasks.

Tip: Aim to create session types that cover each unique type of work, but don’t overcomplicate things. For example, if your morning and afternoon sessions are exactly the same in content, you only need one session type for both. You only need a separate session type if the work differs (e.g., morning triage vs. afternoon consultations).

 

Common Session Types:

Here are some typical session types you might need:

  • GPs:
    • GP Standard Session
    • GP Duty Session
    • GP Triage Session
    • GP Minor Ops Session
    • GP Tutorial Session
    • GP Management Session
    • GP Diabetes Session
  • Nurses:
    • Nurse Standard Session
    • Nurse Diabetes Session
    • Nurse Smear Clinic
    • Nurse Asthma Clinic
  • Receptionists:
    • Front Desk Session
    • Triage Session
    • Phone Session

 

Managing Morning vs. Afternoon Sessions

If your morning and afternoon sessions are identical in structure and content, you don’t need to create separate session types. For instance, if your “GP Standard Session” is the same throughout the day, you only need one session type.

However, if there are significant differences between morning and afternoon—such as different session lengths, types of appointments, or the number of patients—then it’s wise to create distinct session types for each.

Also, don’t worry about creating new session types for small variations, like if a meeting happens during the session or if someone is supervising a colleague. These minor differences can be managed within the session templates themselves, which we’ll cover in a later guide.

 

Starting with Existing Clinic Systems

A great place to start is by referencing your clinic’s current system, such as SystmOne. Many clinics already have a structure for rota management, which can be transferred into Tempo. If you have a long list of session types, we can even help import them directly from your clinic system to save you time.

Once imported, all you’ll need to do is review and tweak the settings to make sure everything aligns with your specific needs.

 

Key Session Type Attributes in Tempo

Every session type in Tempo comes with a set of attributes that help define how the session is used within your rota. While you can explore more advanced settings later, here’s what you need to know for the initial setup:

  1. Session Name: Choose a clear, descriptive name for the session. This name should make it easy to reference within your rotas and clinical system. For example, “GP Duty Session” is clear and tells both the staff and the rota manager exactly what’s expected.
  2. Session Code: This is a unique, shorthand reference for the session type. It allows for quick identification when you’re working in Tempo’s rota overview, the annual planner, or other areas. Keep it simple and logical, like “GP-DS” for GP Duty Session.
  3. Flexible or Protected: This distinction is key and is explained in more detail below. It determines whether the session can be repurposed based on the needs of the practice (Flexible) or if it’s a session that should remain fixed and only changed in rare cases (Protected).
  4. Equity Range: This setting allows you to define how far back Tempo looks when deciding which staff member is most appropriate for a shift. For example, if you want to share duty sessions equally among GPs, you can set Tempo to review the past 3 or 6 months to ensure the load is distributed fairly. If one GP has done more duty sessions recently, Tempo will suggest another for the next one.
  5. Session Colour: Assign a colour to each session type for easy identification in the rota. This helps you spot different sessions at a glance, especially when managing a large team with multiple types of sessions.

Once you’ve set up these attributes, you’re ready to start building your rota templates!

 

Flexible vs. Protected Sessions

This is an important distinction that helps you manage capacity while meeting your practice’s needs. By labelling sessions as either Flexible or Protected, you can manage who does what, and when, in a way that suits the practice while keeping things fair for your team.

  • Flexible Sessions: These are sessions that can be converted or changed to meet organisational requirements. For example, a GP Standard Session might be converted into a GP Duty Session if it’s that GP’s turn to cover. This conversion can happen automatically if you’re using Organisation Template-based rota management or can serve as a guide in User-Template-based rota management.
    Examples of Flexible Sessions:
  • GP Standard Session
  • Nurse Standard Session
  • Protected Sessions: These are sessions that are not typically converted or changed, except in exceptional circumstances. For example, if a GP is scheduled for a Diabetes Clinic, this session would usually be protected, meaning another GP won’t be asked to take it over unless absolutely necessary.
    Examples of Protected Sessions:

 

  • GP Management Session
  • GP Minor Ops Session
  • GP Diabetes Session
  • GP Tutorial Session

 

How to Decide: Flexible or Protected?

An easy rule of thumb to help decide whether a session should be flexible or protected is this:

  • If a staff member is absent, would someone else cover their session or would it be cancelled?
    • If someone else would cover: Flexible
    • If it wouldn’t go ahead without them: Protected

This decision will be vital when you start using Organisational Templates for rota management, as these rely on flexible sessions to help meet the practice’s service requirements.

 

Next Steps

Once you’ve created your session types and set their attributes, you can begin building your user templates and rotas! If you have a lot of different session types, remember we can help you import them from your clinical system (such as SystmOne). Just get in touch, and we’ll walk you through the process.

If you’re unsure about any of the details above or need more guidance on setting up your sessions, we’re always here to help!