Application of a Genetic Algorithm to a Real World Nurse Rostering Problem Instance

The nurse rostering problem involves assigning shifts to qualified personnel using a given timetable under some hard and soft constraints. In this study, the nurse rostering problem instance of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Hospital is solved using a standard genetic algorithm. Currently, the rosters are being prepared by a head nurse who performs this tedious task by hand. Due to the existence of many constraints, the resulting schedules are usually suboptimal. The aim in this study is to generate better schedules. This paper reports the results of the preliminary experiments for developing a good genetic algorithm for this problem.