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Overview

The Work Schedule Management feature allows administrators to define when professionals are available to see patients. Each professional can have different schedules for different days of the week, enabling flexible workforce management.

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Data Model

Work schedules are structured as follows: 
interface IWorkSchedule {
    id: number;
    professionalID: number;     // Reference to Professional
    dayOfWeek: number;          // 0 (Sunday) to 6 (Saturday)
    startTime: string;          // TIME format (HH:MM:SS)
    endTime: string;            // TIME format (HH:MM:SS)
}

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Day of Week Values

  • 0 - Sunday (Domingo)
  • 1 - Monday (Lunes)
  • 2 - Tuesday (Martes)
  • 3 - Wednesday (Miércoles)
  • 4 - Thursday (Jueves)
  • 5 - Friday (Viernes)
  • 6 - Saturday (Sábado)

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Key Features

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Create Work Schedule

Administrators can define work hours for professionals:
1

Select Professional

Choose the professional for whom you’re setting the schedule.
2

Choose Day of Week

Select a day (0-6) for which the professional will be available.
3

Set Time Range

Define start and end times in HH:MM:SS format.
4

Validate Schedule

System ensures:
  • Time format is valid
  • End time is after start time
  • Professional doesn’t already have a schedule for this day
5

Save Schedule

Work schedule is created and becomes active immediately.

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Validation Rules

Strict validation ensures schedule integrity from backend/routes/workSchedule.ts:29-45: 
check('professionalID').custom(existProfessionalById)
check('dayOfWeek', 'El día debe ser un número entre 0 (Domingo) y 6 (Sábado)')
    .isInt({ min: 0, max: 6 })
check('startTime').custom(isValidTimeFormat)
check('endTime').custom(isValidTimeFormat)
check('endTime').custom(checkTimeRange)  // Ensures end > start

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Database Constraints

The model enforces important business rules: 
// From backend/models/workSchedule.ts:33-48
dayOfWeek: {
    type: DataTypes.INTEGER,
    allowNull: false,
    validate: {
        min: 0,
        max: 6
    }
}

// Unique constraint from lines 50-56
indexes: [
    {
        unique: true,
        fields: ['professionalID', 'dayOfWeek'],
        name: 'unique_schedule_day_per_pro'
    }
]
Each professional can only have ONE schedule per day of the week. This prevents conflicting schedules for the same day.

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View Work Schedules

Work schedules can be retrieved:
  • All schedules: Complete list of all professional schedules
  • By ID: Specific schedule details
  • With Professional: Schedules are automatically included when retrieving professional information
When viewing professionals, their work schedules are included: 
// From backend/controllers/professionals.ts:72-75
{
    model: WorkSchedule,
    attributes: ['dayOfWeek', 'startTime', 'endTime']
}

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Update Work Schedule

Schedules can be modified as needed:
1

Locate Schedule

Find the work schedule by ID.
2

Update Times or Day

Modify the day of week, start time, or end time.
3

Re-validate

System validates time format and ensures end time is after start time.
4

Save Changes

Updated schedule is saved and applies to future appointments.
Updating a work schedule does not affect existing appointments. It only applies to future appointment bookings.

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Appointment Integration

Work schedules are critical for appointment validation. When creating an appointment, the system:
  1. Checks if the professional has a work schedule for the appointment day
  2. Validates the appointment time falls within the professional’s working hours
  3. Rejects appointments outside working hours
This validation is performed by checkProfessionalSchedule in the appointment creation process.

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API Endpoints

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GET /api/workSchedule

Retrieve all work schedules. Response: 
{
  "workSchedules": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "professionalID": 5,
      "dayOfWeek": 1,
      "startTime": "09:00:00",
      "endTime": "17:00:00"
    }
  ]
}

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GET /api/workSchedule/:id

Retrieve a specific work schedule by ID.

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POST /api/workSchedule

Create a new work schedule (Admin only). Required Fields:
  • professionalID, dayOfWeek, startTime, endTime
Example Request: 
{
  "professionalID": 5,
  "dayOfWeek": 1,
  "startTime": "09:00:00",
  "endTime": "17:00:00"
}

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PATCH /api/workSchedule/:id

Update a work schedule (Admin only). Required Fields:
  • dayOfWeek, startTime, endTime

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Time Format Requirements

All times must be in HH:MM:SS format:
  • Valid: “09:00:00”, “14:30:00”, “18:45:00”
  • Invalid: “9:00”, “14:30”, “6pm”
The system validates this through the isValidTimeFormat custom validator.

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Use Cases

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Regular Weekly Schedule

For a professional working Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM: 
[
  {"professionalID": 1, "dayOfWeek": 1, "startTime": "09:00:00", "endTime": "17:00:00"},
  {"professionalID": 1, "dayOfWeek": 2, "startTime": "09:00:00", "endTime": "17:00:00"},
  {"professionalID": 1, "dayOfWeek": 3, "startTime": "09:00:00", "endTime": "17:00:00"},
  {"professionalID": 1, "dayOfWeek": 4, "startTime": "09:00:00", "endTime": "17:00:00"},
  {"professionalID": 1, "dayOfWeek": 5, "startTime": "09:00:00", "endTime": "17:00:00"}
]

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Part-Time Schedule

For a professional working only mornings on Monday and Wednesday: 
[
  {"professionalID": 2, "dayOfWeek": 1, "startTime": "08:00:00", "endTime": "13:00:00"},
  {"professionalID": 2, "dayOfWeek": 3, "startTime": "08:00:00", "endTime": "13:00:00"}
]

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Split Shift Schedule

For a professional with morning and afternoon shifts, you would need to represent this differently since only one schedule per day is allowed. Consider using the full time range and managing breaks at the application level.

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Security

All work schedule operations require JWT authentication. Create and update operations are restricted to administrators only.

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Database Relationships

Work schedules connect to:
  • Professionals (Many-to-One): Each schedule belongs to one professional
  • Appointments (Indirectly): Used for validation during appointment creation

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Workflow Example

1

Professional Joins Clinic

New professional is registered in the system.
2

Define Availability

Administrator sets up work schedules for each day the professional will work.
3

Schedule Becomes Active

The professional is now available for appointments on those days and times.
4

Appointment Booking

When patients book appointments, the system automatically checks work schedules.
5

Update as Needed

If professional availability changes, administrator updates the schedules.

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Best Practices

  1. Set up schedules immediately after registering a new professional
  2. Use consistent time formats (HH:MM:SS) to avoid validation errors
  3. Ensure end time is after start time to prevent invalid schedules
  4. One schedule per day - the system enforces this with unique constraints
  5. Update schedules in advance when professional availability changes
  6. Consider time zones if your clinic operates across multiple time zones
  7. Document schedule changes for professional and administrative records
  8. Validate existing appointments before changing schedules significantly

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