Nurse Manager interview questions on budget

[cartermonetRN]

Hello All,

I have a problem that I need help with. I have an assignment for my economics class and i have been unable to obtain assistance from local managers (which is understandable). I have a set of questions concerning unit budgets that I must ask a nurse manager, or director. If any of you are available to answer, or help answer the interview questions; I would more than appreciate it. I'm placing the questions here. In hopes that I'll be able to get some help or feedback. Thank you.

Questions I plan to ask about the effects of staffing on a budget:

1. Is your operating budget focused on all Units of service (UOS) or one in particular?
   
2. Do you use or prefer a daily, monthly, or annual budget when planning your unit budget?
   
3. How does part-time or PRN personnel affect your unit budget?
   
4. Do you have a set amount of staff built into your budget (Fulltime, PRN, part-time) or is it variable?
   
5. How does turn-over affect your staffing budget?
   
6. Is the amount of daily or monthly staff affected or decided by previous year's budget reports? If so, how?
   
7. How does patient acuity and, or flow affect staffs skill mix? How does it affect reimbursement?
   
8. What negative impact does high RN turn-over have on your budget? If any.
   
9. Are there policies that affect nurse-to-patient ratio (low census, capacity)? If so, can you briefly describe them? If not, how do you determine staffing with fluctuating census?
   
10. Is your staffing budget fixed? Or does it change with each budget?
    
11. Is there a monetary ceiling (for each skill set/education level) built into your staffing budget?
    
12. What policies (if any) affect your staffing budget? Can you briefly describe?
    
13. How does reimbursement affect your staffing budget?
    
14. What sources of reimbursement do you include in your budget analysis?
    
15. How do you figure non-personnel expenses (Medical supplies, miscellaneous items, ...) into your budget?