Prior to November 1995, traditional manager-driven scheduling was used in our ICU. The head nurse drew up shift duty rosters and staff nurses negotiated changes to accommodate their own needs. This system led to frequent dissatisfaction and frustration, and consumed the head nurse's time. Hence self-scheduling was introduced in Nov. 1995. Overseas articles document numerous advantages for self-scheduling. This study was conducted to determine benefits of and satisfaction with self-scheduling in this case. All staff members wer invited by letter to return a questionnaire. The results showed that 94% of nurses felt they had acquired greater control over their schedules. 85% indicated their opportunities to obtain desired off-duty time had increased. 85% rated their overall satisfaction as excellent and 15% as good. Shift changes were reduced from 3.2 changes per person per month to 2.1. Staff turnover also fell to 10-11%. We suggest that self-scheduling is an effective tool to increase feelings of autonomy, enhance job satisfaction and foster cooperative attitudes among staff nurses.