CritiCare · Provider Meeting

Describe Scheduling Launch

CritiCare is transitioning from QGenda to Describe for seeing your schedule, setting your availability, and posting Marketplace trades. Today we’ll walk through the timeline and your next steps.

Session
Thursday, Sept 17
Time
8:00 AM ET
Fully live
October 1

Sept 17 – Oct 1

Launch Timeline

September – October 2026

Thu · Sept 17

Describe Scheduling Launch

What you can doDescribeQGenda
Submit availability
View schedule
Post to Marketplace

Describe availability starts with January 2027. You can browse the Marketplace, but not post yet.

Fri · Sept 25

Describe Live Launch

What you can doDescribeQGenda
Submit availability
View schedule
Post to Marketplace

The Marketplace opens: post, split, trade and pick up shifts. QGenda still works alongside it.

Thu · Oct 1

QGenda Closed

What you can doDescribeQGenda
Submit availability
View schedule
Post to Marketplace

Every availability request, schedule check and trade goes through Describe.

October to December are already set from QGenda. Until October 1, anything done in QGenda is copied into Describe every day.

Sept 25: Topgolf Event

Akar will be there in person to help answer any questions or sort out any issues with the app.

Step 1

App Download

The Describe app icon: a black D on white

Point your phone's camera at the code for your phone, or open the link we text you. The app cannot be found by searching the App Store or Google Play — it only opens from a direct link. Look for this icon.

Step 3

Permissions

The app asks for two permissions. Say yes to both — they decide whether the app keeps you posted or stays silent.

Push Notifications

iPhone
Tap Allow
Android
Tap Allow
  • A reminder at 6:00 PM the night before a shift
  • A reminder an hour before your shiftComing soon
  • Updates on your trades and pick-ups
  • Text message and email tooComing soon

Calendar Sync

iPhone
Tap Allow Full Access
Android
Tap Allow
  • Your published shifts in your phone’s calendar
  • Kept up to date when the schedule changes
  • Not asked yet? Settings → Calendar sync → Add shifts to this phone’s calendar
If you tap Don't Allow, you get nothing

No shift reminders, no trade alerts, no shifts in your calendar. Turning it back on afterwards means digging through your phone settings — far easier to say yes now.

Step 4

Calendar Sync

If you allowed calendar access, your shifts are already on your phone's calendar. To see them in Apple or Google Calendar everywhere else, add the live feed.

Your calendar can run a few hours behind

Calendar apps refresh on their own schedule. After a trade or a change, the Describe app is always the up-to-date version.

Opens Sept 17

Availability Requests

No Availability, No Shifts

If you don't put in availability, the system will not schedule you. Describe builds the schedule from what you enter. A blank availability is read as no availability — it does not fall back to last month, and nobody has to chase you for it.

This replaces the monthly chase

No more phone calls on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of the month asking for your availability. The trade is that the deadline is real.

Demo

App Tour

Opens Sept 25

Marketplace Basics

The Marketplace is where shifts change hands. Open it from the menu, or tap one of your shifts on the calendar and choose Post to Marketplace. You can look around from today; posting and picking up switch on September 25.

  • Give awayHand the shift to any eligible provider.
  • TradeSwap with a teammate, and say what you want in return.
  • SplitGive up part of the shift — the start or the end — and keep the rest.
  • Pick upTap Pick up shift on any open shift in the Marketplace list.
Still on the hook until an admin approves

Posting a shift does not release you from it. Even if someone offers to pick it up or trade, the move needs admin approval — until then, the shift is still yours to work.

Opens Sept 25 · Demo

Marketplace Walkthrough

Every move waits for an admin

Pick-ups, trades, give-aways and splits all go to an admin for approval. Your schedule and your calendar stay as they were until it is approved — My Posts shows where each of yours stands.

Recap

Day-One Checklist

  1. Download the app Scan a code below, or use the link we text you — the app cannot be found by searching the store. Do it off the hospital Wi-Fi the first time.
  2. Log in Same email and password as the Criticare Describe website. Scribes set a password on first login.
  3. Allow all permissions Say yes to push notifications and to your calendar — tap Allow, or Allow Full Access for the calendar on iPhone.
  4. Turn on calendar sync Optional, but it puts every shift straight into the calendar you already use.
Then put in your availability

No availability means no shifts. Once you're in, put in your availability for January 2027.

Questions & Support

Q&A

In-Person Support

  • Sept 25: Topgolf Event — Akar will be at the event to answer any questions about the app.

Troubleshooting

  • Can't log in? Try once off the hospital Wi-Fi first.
  • Not getting notifications? Check the app's permissions in your phone settings.

Contact

Any questions or issues with the app:

akar@describemed.com
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