A nursing budget refers to a methodical plan developed by the nurse managers or administrators to provide a draft containing an estimation of the nursing expenses and revenues (Adafin et al., 2020). The budget plays a significant role in projecting the different ways on how the expenses will be covered by the revenue generated. In nursing, budget development entails three distinctive stages: formulation, reviews and presentation, and execution. The complete budget development process is assigned a specific time and the completion date for each stage assigned. The nurse managers are involved in setting goals and designing a budget for the respective healthcare facilities and the nursing unit. When the budget development process is complete, the nurse manager submits the updated budget for approval to the board of directors and the administration. This is a time-consuming process that can result in disapproval and then require modifications due to various factors. The approval of the budget means that the facility has the ability and must deliver the finances for the services planned in the budget throughout the fiscal year.
Strategies of including the team in budget development
As a nurse manager, developing a budget for the entire nursing unit could be a lengthy and dynamic process sometimes full of stress and frustration, but including your team can help draft a satisfactory budget. I prefer including the nursing staff in the process since I am a transformational leader and take into consideration their feedback and views. In my opinion, it is a way to involve them in helping to develop and maintain a budget. It would also allow the staff to know where the money is allotted and understand the overall goal of the facility’s needs financially. I will also use strategies like brainstorming, Delphi technique, cons, and pros list, nominal group approach, and ranking the responsibilities.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming sessions are essential in including all the members of the team or unit in making a decision. The sessions focus on getting potential ideas as it provides a practical way for the individuals to share the flowing thoughts with others. The primary purpose of the brainstorming strategy is to generate numerous suggestions that can help generate revenues
and minimize expenses. Therefore, I would encourage all the nurses in my unit to engage in the brainstorming sessions effectively.
Nominal group strategy
In the process of including the team in budget development, I would encourage using the nominal group technique. The technique with brainstorming sessions includes voting. In the process of brainstorming ideas, the team provides suggestions, which not all of them will be included in the budget. Voting will help include all the suggestions that are satisfactory to everyone and remove those that have minimal impacts.
Delphi Strategy
Delphi strategy is an essential strategy that I would apply to include the team in budget development. The technique involves taking all the ideas and compiling them, and as a nurse manager, I break the suggestions into slighter and significant possibilities. Then, the suggestions from the nurses will be condensed until I reach the best and effective choice to include in the budget.
Pros and cons list strategy
This strategy entails listing the most important things that need to be implemented or included in the budget. I would let the nurses share their input/opinion on the equipment that is necessary for the nursing department to run efficiently. After analyzing the cost, I would make it a priority to fit in the budget. Using the strategy will help in budgeting for the most essential and necessary equipment and supplies needed.
Ways of keeping the team updated on the budget decision
Communication is an essential aspect of any group or team (Lee & Kim, 2020). For the team to work effectively, decisions must be satisfactory for all members and formally communicated. As a nurse manager, I will use several means in communicating the decisions of budget to the nurses in my nursing unit.
Department meetings
Having quarterly meetings on the unit helps to pass important information to the staff. Besides discussing other factors that may influence service delivery and patient care, I will ensure that the budget update is one of the agendas for the meetings. This will help inform staff on the progress of the budget, successes, and shortcomings throughout the year.
Facility’s website
Most healthcare facilities pass information to employees via websites. Besides posting the information on the webpage, I will take advantage of the staff portal features included in the websites. Since anyone, including the patients, can access the webpage, I would use the portal to post regular updates on the budget decisions.
References
Adafin, J., Rotimi, J. O., & Wilkinson, S. (2020). Risk impact assessments in project budget development: quantity surveyors’ perspectives. International Journal of Construction Management, 20(1), 13-28.
Lee, K. R., & Kim, E. J. (2020). Relationship between interprofessional communication and team task performance. Clinical Simulatio
REPLY 2
Nurse managers at one point are required to preside over the department budget. Nurse managers should remain competent in the organization’s budgeting course for nursing to respond to economic ambiguity and pressures. The finance language has remained a relevant course for the future nurse manager due to deteriorating financial incentives and reimbursements associated with patient satisfaction and quality outcomes. Therefore, enhancing quality health decision- making requires nurse managers’ proper strategies to involve team members in budget development.
Nurse managers play a vital role in ensuring that the department’s expenditure is maintained within its budget constraints. As an operational strategy, the process entails creating awareness of the department’s team’s financial expectations. As such, the team is mindful of the department’s financial goals and objectives. Besides, nurse managers are charged with a holistic role of ensuring that staffing expenses are sustained within the budget limits. They are aware of the fluctuations in the staffing prerequisites without accumulating staff overtime. In case staffing requirements overcome unit resources, they are expected to prepare for an interim budget for the temporary assistance (Mushynska &Kniazian, 2019). Practically, the nurse managers are obliged to assist the group in advancing a proper way of pursuing work within the available staffing resources.
Effective communication is pertinent to engage the team in budget development. Proper communication allows for interconnection between and among departments. A seamless connection between departments tends to enlighten the nurse management about the costs accumulated by some departments, which may significantly affect the entire health organization (Mushynska & Kniazian, 2019). For example, treatment units are obliged for biomedical services achieved on unit apparatus for defensive maintenance. As a nurse manager, being mindful of the timing and cost, the above events allow one to keep track of the unit’s budget’s financial performance.
Creating a significant relationship with other key stakeholders, including clinical departments and finance departments, is critical in involving the budget development team. Applying the finance units in the section’s operative activities and services and allowing for healthy interaction with the team permits seamless communication between departments (Muthomi & Thurmaier, 2020). As a consequence, departments can express their needs freely.
Keeping the team abreast of the critical budgetary decisions throughout the year might be challenging, but it can be achieved by installing good communication networks. Ensuring comprehensive and detailed communication allows for successful information flow among departments. This course necessitates developing an upfront communication strategy that involves improving infrastructures’ efficiency, including quality and frequency. Another way is ensuringthat all the people are involved in the budgetary initiative via open communication.
Also, the incessant forecast allows for regular updating and administration of an inherently stormy budget that isnecessary for the budget project (Hartviksen, Aspfors & Uhrenfeldt, 2019). This involves holding discussions within the budget management at the team level during meetings.
Organizing for the talks to the team concerning the upcoming expends tends to offer members an accurate view of budget performance progress. Notably, unswerving forecasting also allows the team to antedate the development ofthe budget. Finally, keeping the section on the same page of organizational goals and budget parameters is another way of updating them with budget decisions throughout the year. This initiative develops an interactive approach as each member is aware of what activities are on course as far as the health organization’s performance is concerned.
References
Hartviksen, T. A., Aspfors, J., & Uhrenfeldt, L. (2019). Healthcare middle managers’ experiences of developing capacity and capability: a systematic review and meta-synthesis. BMC health services research, 19(1), 546.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-019-4345-1.
Mushynska, N., & Kniazian, M. (2019). Social innovations in the professional training of managers under the conditions of knowledge economy development. Baltic Journal of Economic Studies, 5(2), 137-143.https://doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2019-5-2-137-143.
Muthomi, F., & Thurmaier, K. (2020).Participatory Transparency in Kenya: Toward an Engaged Budgeting Model of Local Governance. Public Administration Review. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13294,
Edited by Ulloa Jimenez, Claudia on May 26 at 8:54pm
