The figure below illustrates a financial concept map that has been designed on the basis of an interview with a nurse manager.
As it might be seen in the figure above, a nurse manager carries out four major functions: planning and development, monitoring, reporting, and communication.
As such, first and foremost, a nurse manager is responsible for the development of an annual budget. The budget is designed on the basis of a critical evaluation of previous budgets with regard to the recent changes in the organization’s demands and needs (Titzer, Shirey, & Hauck, 2014). The developed budget should be accompanied by the relevant rationale so that it is further accepted by the superior management.
Secondly, a nurse manager is supposed to report all the budget-related trends to the supervisor. The reports are expected to be provided on a regular basis, i.e. at least once a month. The end-of-year data is normally reviewed together with the Chief Nurse or other responsible bodies from the financial department. Regular and consistent reporting is essential to ensure effective budget management (Shirey & Ebright, 2012).
Additionally, a nurse manager is in charge of monitoring all the budget-related trends. It might involve tracking the way employees manage the assigned allocations as well as the way they use the supplied resources and materials. In the event of a budget misuse, a nurse manager is obliged to report the incident to the supervisor. From this perspective, a nurse manager performs a particularly important function that requires prompt and rational decision-making (Shirey & Ebright, 2012).
Finally, a nurse manager is expected to perform the budget-related communication. Otherwise stated, it is essential that he or she keeps all the key stakeholders informed on the way the money is managed. Similarly, a nurse manager needs to explain the stakeholders’ expectations regarding the budget to the staff. This responsibility is one of the most challenging since it requires a nurse manager to possess good negotiation skills (Zwink et al., 2013).
As a result, it might be concluded that a nurse manager performs a wide range of important responsibilities within a budget dimension. Thus, this person plays a role of a liaison between the staff and the key stakeholders ensuring that the financial interests of all the groups are properly managed.
Reference List
Titzer, J., Shirey, M., & Hauck, S. (2014). A nurse manager succession planning model with associated empirical outcomes. Journal of Nursing Administration, 44(1), 37-46.
Shirey, M., & Ebright, P. (2012). Nurse manager cognitive decision-making amidst stress and work complexity. Nursing Management, 21(1), 17-30.
Zwink, J., Dzialo, M., Fink, R., Oman, K. S., Shiskowsky, K., Waite, K., DeVine, D., Sander, C. L., & Le-Lazar, J. (2013). Nurse manager perceptions of role satisfaction and retention at an academic medical center. Journal of Nursing Administration, 43(3), 135-145.