Starting your shift

What you’ll do

Open Synapse before report, tap through two smiley-face rating rows on the Welcome screen, tap Start Shift, and you’re on the dashboard with a shift window opened. Tasks you create from this moment forward get tagged with this shift’s start time.

Why nurses use this

The 0645 routine. Find the off-going nurse, find the unit clerk, find your coffee. Synapse adds 30 seconds of self-data to that: two smiley-face rating rows for energy and physical state. That’s it. The reason we ask is not to nag you about wellness in the moment; it’s so that two months from now, when you look at a resilience trend and see your pre-shift energy creeping down, you have the data to spot what’s happening before it becomes a problem.

How to get there

• Open the app. The Welcome screen is the landing screen once you’re signed in and not currently on an active shift.
• Direct route: app.nursebrain.com/welcome.
• End-of-previous-shift returns you here. After you finish an end-of-shift flow, Synapse drops you back on Welcome ready for the next one.

Step-by-step

1. Land on the Welcome screen. Big “Start Shift” button at the bottom, greyed out. Two smiley-face rating rows above it.

2. Rate your energy. “How’s your energy level?” Tap a smiley. Be honest. There’s no “right” answer. The data is only useful if it’s real.

3. Rate your physical state. “How do you feel physically?” Tap a smiley. Same honesty.

4. Tap Start Shift. Two things happen:

   • The shift window opens. Tasks you create from now get tagged to this shift.
   • You land on the dashboard. The Patients chip is active by default; the deck is whatever was on it when you ended last time (cleared if you ended-shift normally, persistent if you’re on a Long-Term Care specialty).

5. Get to work. Add your assignment via your favorite path. QR import from the off-going nurse, dictate by voice, type by hand, or scan a paper sheet. See adding a patient.

Tips from the floor

• Tap where you actually are, even if it feels performative. The longitudinal value comes from consistency.
• Start the shift before report, not after. That way tasks the off-going nurse hands you that you act on immediately count toward this shift.
• Welcome is not the dashboard. If you don’t tap Start Shift, you’re not technically in a shift. Your task tally won’t run. Tap the button.
• End Shift lives in Settings. When the shift’s over, that’s where you close it out. See ending your shift.
• The pre-shift ratings gate the Start Shift button. You can’t tap Start Shift until you’ve tapped a smiley in both rows. They’re not optional.

Common questions

What if I don’t rate before tapping Start Shift? You can’t skip it. Start Shift stays greyed out until you’ve tapped a smiley in both rows.

Does the shift time auto-detect from my schedule? No. Synapse doesn’t connect to your hospital’s scheduling system. You tap Start Shift when your shift starts. The ritual is the point.

Can I run two shifts back-to-back without ending the first? You can, but the tally and resilience signals merge. End-of-shift first, Welcome second. Even if it’s a doubles night.

What happens if I don’t tap Start Shift for a day? Nothing breaks. You’re just in a “no active shift” state. Tasks and patients still work, but tasks won’t have a shift tag and the resilience picture skips that day.

Does the Watch show the Welcome screen? No. The Watch gates itself behind “shift active”. You need to start the shift on the phone before the Watch UI unlocks. See Apple Watch.

Where this fits in your shift

Starting the shift is the moment Synapse’s surfaces become active. The mid-shift surfaces (working your shift) all assume a shift is open. The end-of-shift ritual (ending your shift) closes the window. And the longitudinal view of your ratings across shifts lives in burnout and resilience.