Information about your budgeting/finance experiences as a nurse manager

[slobbygirl]

I'm not 100% sure that this is an appropriate place to post this, but the terms of service do say that it's okay to ask about information for a school project, so I figure I will go ahead, and if it's not okay, please tell me! I want to be respectful of the site.

I am an entry-level MSN nursing student, and one of the classes I have this semester is about healthcare finance. We are learning about budgeting, staffing levels, capital budgets, operating budgets, etc. We have an assignment to interview a nurse manager and find out how the budgeting process works in everyday life on a real unit.

Most of my classmates are interviewing a few people that they know personally, or that we have worked with in our clinical rotations, but I wanted to ask someone that I didn't already know, to get a broader perspective.

Is there anyone out there who would be willing to answer a few questions about being a nurse manager and their budgeting process? Essentially, how did you find yourself in the role of nurse manager? Did you get any specific preceptorship or training, either on the job or through classes, on budgeting and finance? How do you go about getting a new piece of equipment for the unit? What are your biggest challenges around budgeting and staffing levels?

You can pm me if you'd like, or reply to the post. Thanks in advance for any insights!