Nursing and Financial Management

[scraplady]

Need some feedback please, asap.

Would like to know nurse managers out there particularlly in the acute hospital setting or home health, what is your role in financial management? and how do you manage ethical and legal issues what strategies do you use. I have to write a small paper about this would like some extra input.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

Think of it like this: I run an Auto Zone store. I keep a budget, hire/fire employees, and manage my "business" within the agreement I have with the Corporate office. I set goals that relate to the Corporate goals so that my store and the Corporation both benefit. I order supplies, paint the store, and pay for other things out of my budget that I created, but Corporate approved. Just because something was budgeted does not mean the money will be there when I want to make a purchase. Especially capital items like adding on to the store, or buying a car for business purposes. When business is down, I reduce worker's hours or lay people off. I meet occassionally with other store owners/managers so we can discuss the best way to make a profit, keep our specially trained personnel and use our resources effectively. Sometimes the CEO agrees with us and sometimes not, but the idea is to keep the whole business running, not just my store. When I have an idea about saving money, or making money for my store, I share it with Corporate. Maybe the idea is good enough that other stores might be able to save/make money too. At the end of the day, it is my store and I am responsible and accountable for how well I used resources, including staff.

Hope this helps.