Fiscal Concerns in the Health Care Setting Case Study
As a manager of a unit, certain responsibilities and obligations are difficult to manage. There are major tasks that are connected, and each flows in a different direction, and the responsibility always lies with the manager. In a healthcare setting, the importance of nurses in contributing to fiscal planning has been recognized. According to Marquis and Huston (2012), nursing managers have to be experts in financial matters to ensure that there are patient and staff satisfaction within their organization. Therefore, to ensure that resources are used wisely and timely in a cost effective manner, nurse managers are supposed to have an appropriate balance when spending allocated finances and resources. It should be noted that, quality of care is not allowed proportional with spending a lot of finances and resource. Budgets are developed on a yearly basis and in the course of the fiscal year there are changes that are experienced including the fluctuation of patient care. Therefore, a proper budget should ensure that patients and staffs are satisfied through effective yearly planning. Therefore, when planning a budget, it is important that the nurse manager to plan ahead to ensure that unforeseen circumstances are handled effectively, including reduced staffing, the rise in acuity, or need for more equipment. …show more content…
In that case, a nurse manager should ensure that he or she evaluates needs and visits the facility during shifts to assess the needs and prioritize them based on urgency when drafting a budget (Yoder-Weiss, 20015). To have an understanding of budgetary goals and how to attain them is the key to having an effective and efficient budget that can handle any emergency that might occur during the fiscal year (Marquis & Huston, 2012). Annual Budget Expended in March Expended Year to Date Amount Remaining Personnel 250,000 20,000 150,000 100,000 Overtime 50,000 10,000 50,000 0 Supplies 18,000 1,800 16,500 1,500 Travel 1,000 0 300 700 Equipment 5,000 0 3,000 2,000 Staff education 1,000 200 600 400 In the above case, request for equipment can be deferred until the next fiscal year. Nurses have requested two patients lifts to help them carry heavy patients, but the cost is too high and cannot be to be paid in full during this fiscal year. It is important that needs that are high on the priorities need table be taken into consideration, including ensuring that the hospital is properly staffed. It is important to note that working conditions for nurses are highly stressful and demanding, and, therefore, nurses are constantly suffering from emotional exhaustion, a condition that is linked to burnout due to the insufficient ration of nurses to patients (Cimiotti, 2012). Therefore, the request to have an additional RN in each shift should be given priority and accepted because the budget has an extra 100,000 dollars left for personnel. The addition of another nurse will aid in easing the nurse workload and ensure that the ratio between nurses and patients is balanced. The issue of more snacks should be deferred to the next fiscal year as it is not deemed as a priority in ensuring the satisfaction of both the patients and staff. On the other hand, the issue of training nurses in wound care can be addressed during this fiscal year. The remaining amount of personnel is high enough to cater for the hiring of an additional RN and also support the training session of the four nurses. Currently, there are only …show more content…
The most accurate budget estimate was supplies and travel. Subsequently, the areas that were most inaccurate, according to the budget print out were personnel and overtime. The inaccuracy on personnel and overtime can be attributed to increased nursing workload and patient acuity that resulted in a decline in patient care and nurse turnover. To mitigate the issue of patient acuity, a point system model can be utilized to allow for proper distribution of nurses, and reducing nurses’ workload. On the other hand, the manager should create a leadership framework that is founded on proper communication, openness and trust. Also, the manager should foster an environment that allows staff to participate in initiatives that are aimed at improving the quality of care given and in turn this will promote a structure that aligned to the hospital vision and
As a manager of a unit, certain responsibilities and obligations are difficult to manage. There are major tasks that are connected, and each flows in a different direction, and the responsibility always lies with the manager. In a healthcare setting, the importance of nurses in contributing to fiscal planning has been recognized. According to Marquis and Huston (2012), nursing managers have to be experts in financial matters to ensure that there are patient and staff satisfaction within their organization. Therefore, to ensure that resources are used wisely and timely in a cost effective manner, nurse managers are supposed to have an appropriate balance when spending allocated finances and resources. It should be noted that, quality of care is not allowed proportional with spending a lot of finances and resource. Budgets are developed on a yearly basis and in the course of the fiscal year there are changes that are experienced including the fluctuation of patient care. Therefore, a proper budget should ensure that patients and staffs are satisfied through effective yearly planning. Therefore, when planning a budget, it is important that the nurse manager to plan ahead to ensure that unforeseen circumstances are handled effectively, including reduced staffing, the rise in acuity, or need for more equipment. …show more content…
In that case, a nurse manager should ensure that he or she evaluates needs and visits the facility during shifts to assess the needs and prioritize them based on urgency when drafting a budget (Yoder-Weiss, 20015). To have an understanding of budgetary goals and how to attain them is the key to having an effective and efficient budget that can handle any emergency that might occur during the fiscal year (Marquis & Huston, 2012). Annual Budget Expended in March Expended Year to Date Amount Remaining Personnel 250,000 20,000 150,000 100,000 Overtime 50,000 10,000 50,000 0 Supplies 18,000 1,800 16,500 1,500 Travel 1,000 0 300 700 Equipment 5,000 0 3,000 2,000 Staff education 1,000 200 600 400 In the above case, request for equipment can be deferred until the next fiscal year. Nurses have requested two patients lifts to help them carry heavy patients, but the cost is too high and cannot be to be paid in full during this fiscal year. It is important that needs that are high on the priorities need table be taken into consideration, including ensuring that the hospital is properly staffed. It is important to note that working conditions for nurses are highly stressful and demanding, and, therefore, nurses are constantly suffering from emotional exhaustion, a condition that is linked to burnout due to the insufficient ration of nurses to patients (Cimiotti, 2012). Therefore, the request to have an additional RN in each shift should be given priority and accepted because the budget has an extra 100,000 dollars left for personnel. The addition of another nurse will aid in easing the nurse workload and ensure that the ratio between nurses and patients is balanced. The issue of more snacks should be deferred to the next fiscal year as it is not deemed as a priority in ensuring the satisfaction of both the patients and staff. On the other hand, the issue of training nurses in wound care can be addressed during this fiscal year. The remaining amount of personnel is high enough to cater for the hiring of an additional RN and also support the training session of the four nurses. Currently, there are only …show more content…
The most accurate budget estimate was supplies and travel. Subsequently, the areas that were most inaccurate, according to the budget print out were personnel and overtime. The inaccuracy on personnel and overtime can be attributed to increased nursing workload and patient acuity that resulted in a decline in patient care and nurse turnover. To mitigate the issue of patient acuity, a point system model can be utilized to allow for proper distribution of nurses, and reducing nurses’ workload. On the other hand, the manager should create a leadership framework that is founded on proper communication, openness and trust. Also, the manager should foster an environment that allows staff to participate in initiatives that are aimed at improving the quality of care given and in turn this will promote a structure that aligned to the hospital vision and