University of Toronto's Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) runs one of the largest residency program in North America with 300+ residents and 14 hospital teaching sites. A key element is the Teaching Practices Program, where 150+ second-year residents are matched with a practicing family doctor, often in a rural community in Ontario for two months.
A successful match not only respects preceptors' availabilities, but also fairly balances residents' preferences. Additionally, not too many residents can leave a hospital at the same time to go on their rural rotation. These constraints render the problem nearly intractable by means of manual trial-and-error. Staff often have to go to great lengths to satisfy both residents and hospitals.
We developed an integrated solution that almost fully automates the tedious steps in the process.
Plank is the key to making our resident scheduling a success! Our new online scheduling system has boosted our program's productivity and efficiency. The tool is a joy to use and lets us effortlessly match hundreds of people at the push of a button. Thank you Plank!
— Fadia Bravo, Teaching Practices Program Assistant