Rescue picks,
explained
How the draft makes sure everyone can still meet their requirements, and how you'll know when it steps in.
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Day
Night
Your pick
Rescue pick
How the draft makes sure everyone can still meet their requirements, and how you'll know when it steps in.
Every pick shrinks the pool
A draft hands out a fixed set of shifts. Some people's options run out faster than others'.
Nights left in the poolBDr B can work this night
Tue 1 DecPicked by Dr E
Thu 3 DecPicked by Dr E
Sat 5 DecBPicked by Dr F
Tue 8 DecPicked by Dr G
Sat 12 DecBPicked by Dr G
Mon 21 DecB
B
Dr BNeeds 2 more nights
Nights Dr B can still work321
Nights Dr B still needs2
Room to spare
No room left
Stuck
Nobody did anything wrong, but Dr B can no longer meet the requirement, and nobody
else can take that spot for them. The draft is stuck. It often isn't noticed
until picking closes, and then an admin has to rearrange several people's shifts by
hand.
Say six nights are left in the draft. Dr B can work three of them; the other three clash with shifts Dr B already holds. Dr B still needs two.
Colleagues pick normally, and one of them takes a night Dr B could have worked. Now Dr B has exactly as many options as needed.
One more ordinary pick and Dr B is short. Nobody broke a rule, but the requirement can no longer be met, and nobody else can fill it for Dr B. That is the problem rescue picks exist to prevent.
Why a shift can be off-limits to you
A shift only counts for you if you could actually work it alongside everything you already hold.
Approved time offThe shift overlaps time off your admin has approved. Pending requests don't
count.
An overlapping shiftYou already hold a shift that runs at the same time.
Too little gapNot enough hours between the end of one of your shifts and the start of the
next.
Not enough rest between typesThe rest needed when moving between shift types, such as a night into a day,
isn't met.
Backward rotationThe shift types would run against the allowed direction of rotation.
Too many nights in a rowTaking it would go past the limit on consecutive nights.
A shift only counts for you if you could work it alongside everything you already hold. It is off-limits if:
- it overlaps time off your admin has approved (pending requests don't count);
- you already hold a shift that runs at the same time;
- there aren't enough hours between it and another of your shifts;
- the rest needed between shift types, such as a night into a day, isn't met;
- it would run your shift types against the allowed direction of rotation;
- it would take you past the limit on nights in a row.
Only the first comes from time off. The rest come from shifts you already hold, which is why options tighten as the draft goes on, even if you never asked for time off.
The safety net watches everyone's margin
For every person and every requirement, it asks the same question after every change to the draft.
Shifts you can still work432Each one fits around the shifts you already hold
−
Shifts you still need2For this requirement, such as Nights
=
Your margin210Plenty of roomGetting tightRescue pick now
0 · Rescue1 · Tight2 or more · Healthy
At zero it's still possible, but losing one more shift would make it impossible, so
the net acts right away. It re-checks within seconds of every change: a pick,
a removal, an admin assignment, an approved time-off request.
After every change to the draft, the safety net works out a margin for each person and each requirement: the shifts you can still work, minus the shifts you still need.
With four workable nights and two needed, your margin is two. Someone takes one: margin one. Another goes: margin zero, and the net acts.
At zero you can still finish, but losing one more shift would make it impossible, so the net acts straight away. It re-checks within seconds of every pick, removal, admin assignment or approved time-off request.
Overlap matters when it leaves you short: three nights that all overlap each other can only ever give you one shift.
A rescue pick, step by step
Nights still in
the pool
On the clock
A
Dr APicks 1st · needs 1 night
Margin 41 needed · 5 workable
CompletePicked in turn
Out of turn
B
Dr BPicks 2nd · needs 2 nights
Margin 12 needed · 3 workable
Margin 02 needed · 2 workable
Still margin 01 needed · 1 workable
CompleteBoth nights secured
Dr B is emailed
C
Dr CPicks 3rd · needs 1 night
Margin 11 needed · 2 workable
UnaffectedTue 1 and Thu 3 Dec still open
Tue 1 DecOverlaps a day shift Dr B holds
Thu 3 DecOverlaps a day shift Dr B holds
Sat 5 Dec
Sat 12 DecRescue
Mon 21 DecRescue
Dr B's turn hadn't come yet. Waiting would have risked those last nights going to
someone else, so the net acted straight away: one shift at a time, re-measuring
after each, until every margin is above zero.
Five nights are left. Dr A picks first, Dr B second, Dr C third. Dr B needs two nights and can work three of the five; the other two overlap day shifts Dr B already holds. Margin one.
Dr A, on the clock, picks Sat 5 Dec, one of Dr B's three. Dr B now has two workable nights for two needed: margin zero.
Dr B's turn hasn't come yet, and waiting would risk those last nights going to someone else. So the net picks Sat 12 Dec for Dr B, out of turn, and emails Dr B. It chooses the best-scoring shift for Dr B, preferring one other at-risk people don't also need.
Dr B's margin is still zero, so it picks Mon 21 Dec as well. Dr B is complete, and Dr C still has two nights to choose from.
Why it exists: so the draft never gets stuck
A rescue pick trades a little choice for one person now, so every requirement can still be met at the end.
Without rescue picks
- The last night Dr B could work is picked by someone else.
- Dr B's Nights requirement can no longer be met, by anyone.
- It surfaces late, often when picking closes.
- An admin rearranges several people's shifts by hand.
Draft stuck
With rescue picks
- The net sees Dr B's margin reach zero within seconds.
- It secures the last night Dr B can work, and emails Dr B.
- Everyone else keeps picking from what's left.
- Requirements stay fillable, as long as a workable shift is left.
Draft completes
Without rescue picks, the last night Dr B could work goes to someone else. The requirement can no longer be met by anyone, it often isn't noticed until picking closes, and an admin has to rearrange several people's shifts by hand.
With rescue picks, the net sees the margin reach zero within seconds, secures Dr B's last workable nights, and emails Dr B. Everyone else keeps picking from what's left, and requirements stay fillable as long as a workable shift is left.
Rescue picks aren't about favouring anyone. They keep the draft solvable for everyone, including the people picking after.
You'll get an email the moment it happens
It tells you which shift was picked and which requirement it protects.
ScheduleForwardA shift was picked for you in Q1 2027 Draftnow
Requirement rescue
A shift was picked for you
Hi Dr B,
In Q1 2027 Draft, you were down to the last shifts you could still be assigned to fulfill your Nights requirement, so the system claimed this one for you before the requirement became unfulfillable:
Night Shift
Main Hospital · 🌙 Nights
Saturday, December 12, 2026
11:00 PM EST → 7:00 AM EST
No action is needed. If this pick doesn't work for you, you can remove it during your turn like any other pick, or contact your admin to swap it, but note it was one of the last remaining shifts that fit this requirement. Your other picks and requirements are unaffected.
View the draft →-
1
Sent right awayTo your email, and to your group email too if it's different.
-
2
Names the shift and the requirementThe date, the time, and the requirement it keeps within reach.
-
3
No action neededThe shift is already on your schedule and counts toward your requirement.
You get an email as soon as a shift is picked for you, sent to your email and to your group email too if that's different.
It names the shift, its date and time, and the requirement it protects. No action is needed: the shift is already on your schedule and counts toward your requirement.
And a teal lightning bolt on the shift
On the draft screen, a rescue pick carries a teal bolt, so you can always tell it apart from a shift you chose.
Thu 10
7a3p
Day Shift7:00a – 3:00pMain Hospital
Fri 11
3p11p
Evening Shift3:00p – 11:00pMain Hospital
Sat 12
11p7a
Night Shift11:00p – 7:00aMain Hospital
Auto-picked to protect a requirement you could no longer fill
-
No boltA shift you picked yourself.
-
Gold boltAuto-picked because your turn ran out of time.
-
Teal boltA rescue pick. Hover it for the reason. It shows on the draft screen on your phone too.
On the draft screen, on a computer or your phone, a rescue pick carries a teal lightning bolt. A gold bolt means a shift was auto-picked because your turn ran out of time. No bolt means you picked it yourself.
On a computer, hovering the teal bolt shows why the shift was picked.
What a rescue pick means for you
It works like any other pick, with one thing worth knowing before you remove it.
It's a normal pickIt counts toward your requirement exactly like a shift you chose yourself.
Chosen with your preferencesIt's scored the same way as your own auto-picks, and prefers a shift other
at-risk teammates don't also need.
Your approved time off is safeA rescue pick never lands on a shift that touches your approved time off.
Removing it doesn't fix the shortfallThe net will likely pick again within seconds, and not always the same shift. If
your group has turned rescue picks off, nothing is picked. Ask your admin about a
swap instead.
If nothing left in the pool works for you, the net can't pick anything. The
ScheduleForward team is alerted instead, so we can help your admin arrange a swap.
- It's a normal pick. It counts toward your requirement exactly like a shift you chose.
- Chosen with your preferences. It's scored the same way as your own auto-picks, and prefers a shift other at-risk teammates don't also need.
- Your approved time off is safe. A rescue pick never lands on a shift that touches your approved time off.
- Removing it doesn't fix the shortfall. The net will likely pick again within seconds, and not always the same shift. If your group has turned rescue picks off, nothing is picked. Ask your admin about a swap instead.
If nothing left works for you, the net can't pick anything. The ScheduleForward team is alerted instead, so we can help your admin arrange a swap.
Coming soon: the shift waits for you
Instead of picking the shift for you, the draft will keep it open for you, so you can pick it yourself.
Today
11p7a
Night ShiftSat 12 Dec
Picked for you, automatically. You find out by email.
SoonWhat everyone else sees
11p7a
Night ShiftSat 12 DecUnavailable
Unavailable. This shift isn't open for picking right now.
SoonBWhat Dr B sees
11p7a
Night ShiftSat 12 DecYou picked this
Why the change: finding a shift chosen for you feels very different from
choosing it yourself. The draft is protected in exactly the same way, and you stay
in control of your own schedule.
Not live yet. Instead of picking the shift for you, the draft will keep it open for you, so you can pick it yourself. Everyone else will see it as unavailable; to you it is just an open shift with a button to pick it.
The draft stays protected in exactly the same way, and you stay in control of your own schedule. Until this ships, rescue picks work as described above.
Rescue picks in three lines
- 1They step in only when someone's last workable shifts are about to run out, so the draft never gets stuck.
- 2You'll know by email, and by a teal lightning bolt on the shift.
- 3Soon, you'll pick that shift yourself instead.
- They step in only when someone's last workable shifts are about to run out, so the draft doesn't get stuck.
- You'll know by email, and by a teal lightning bolt on the shift.
- Soon, you'll pick that shift yourself instead.
