How coverage requirements work

Coverage requirements set the minimum headcount and seniority mix PlanMyRounds must staff on every shift — here’s where they’re set and how the engine treats them.

A coverage requirement is the minimum staffing PlanMyRounds must hit on a shift. It’s made of two numbers, both hard constraints: if the engine can’t meet them, generation fails rather than publishing a short-staffed schedule.

The two numbers

Required doctors

The total headcount needed to cover the shift each time it occurs.

Min seniors required

How many of those doctors must be senior, out of the total required.

Where it’s set

Both numbers are defined once, on the Shift Requirement itself, not per roster. Every Shift Schedule and Duty Plan that uses that shift inherits the same staffing requirement — you don’t set it again when building a roster.

Changing a Shift Requirement’s staffing numbers only affects Duty Plans generated afterward. See What changes when you edit something.

How the engine treats it

Coverage requirements sit near the top of the engine’s priority order: after no-overlap and approved-leave blocks, minimum staffing and minimum senior staffing are checked before any work-pattern or fairness rule. If your team can’t meet a shift’s coverage requirement across the full period, generation fails — see Duty Plan generation failed.

The wizard’s team-selection step runs a live coverage check as you pick doctors, so you can catch a shortfall before you even generate.

Next steps

Create a shift

Set required doctors and minimum seniors on a Shift Requirement.

Duty Plan generation failed

What to check when coverage can’t be met.