Deadlines

A deadline is simply a time -- when a task or protocol (set of tasks) is due. If it's not completed by that time, it's considered late. Simple, right?

Where it gets complicated is in how the time is expressed. There are two basic ways:

1. Absolute ("wall clock") time, e.g. a lunch tray must be set up by noon.
2. Relative time:

   a) Relative to the start of the shift (SOS) e.g. taking report from the outgoing nurses must be completed no later than a half hour after the start of your shift.

   b) Relative to the start of of a protocol (SOP). For example, a pain meds protocol (2 tasks) might start at 1400 when a pain med is given. Half an hour later (30 minutes after SOP) you must return to the patient and do a pain assessment.

   c) Relative to the end of a protocol (EOP). For example, it takes 12 minutes to do a pre-meal diabetic insulin administration (comprising 5 tasks) and this must be completed no later than 20 minutes before a meal. Thus, the protocol has a deadline (its end time; the time by which the whole thing must be completed). Blood glucose must be measured within the first 4 minutes, then within the next 2 minutes you must consult the insulin protocol, then in 2 more minutes draw up the correct type and amount of insulin, then in another minute get another RN to confirm it, and then in the last 3 minutes administer it to the patient. Thus, the deadlines relative to EOP are 8, 6, 4, 3, and 0 minutes respectively for each task within the protocol.

The app has these rules built-in and makes deadline-setting easy.

Some tasks have deadlines; others do not. You turn that feature on or off with a switch. 

• Tasks with no deadline have a default deadline that is the end of the shift.  Conceptually, these are the tasks for which it doesn't matter when you do them, as long as you do do them some time during your shift. In the Shift at a Glance screen, their icons are at the end of the shift.

To set a task's deadline:

1. Tap on the task icon (either in one of the To-Do List screens or in the Shift at a Glance screen). 
2. On the Task screen choose either Reset Deadline or Edit Task.  If you choose Edit Task, then choose Deadline.
3. In the Task Deadline screen, you can turn the deadline on or off.
4. With a task's Deadline switch turned on, you can set the task's deadline time.