Established Goals: Description
Managing financial resources is crucial for providing efficient nursing services to the target population. Herein lies the significance of understanding the concepts of productivity and costing out in nursing. Thus, the goals set for the week were as follows:
- Understanding the concepts of productivity and costing out, as well as their relevance for productive nursing practice;
- Learning to carry out key financial tasks faced by a nurse.
Meeting the Goals; Retrospect
In order to attain the goals listed above, it was necessary to not only study the available materials and engage in the active exploration of the subject matter through reading the relevant resources but also training the ability to carry out key financial tasks. In order to gain insight into the nature of productivity and the means of spurring it in the context of the nursing environment, I had to explore the concept of leadership in the nursing setting. Furthermore, a better understanding of the stages of organizational processes occurring in the nursing environment was required.
To develop the skills for conducting a financial analysis for a nursing organization, I had to consider the strengths and weaknesses of a specific nursing organization. Thus, a detailed overview of the specifics of analyzing financial transactions, allocating the available assets, and reducing costs became a possibility. As a result, the foundation for improving my analytical skills and developing the ability to forecast possible outcomes of applying particular financial strategies was built (Paterson, 2014).
Integrating Two Concepts (Cash Flow and Variable Costs)
The practicum experience shed a lot of light on the issue of using financial analysis in the realm of a nursing organization. During the practicum, I managed to apply a range of course concepts to the target setting, thus, developing a viable strategy for meeting the organizational goals and improving patient outcomes.
Particularly, the notion of cash flow analysis was integrated into the practicum successfully. By using the identified ratio as the means of assessing the opportunities and threats faced by the company, I managed to draft the approach toward allocating the available financial resources that could help improve the situation and provide the facility with a chance to increase the quality of services by purchasing new equipment and offering training courses for the staff.
Moreover, the concept of variable costs and the tools for reducing them was incorporated into the practicum successfully. An assessment of the organization’s budget history allowed creating the strategy that helped reduce costs to a certain extent. For instance, an overview of the expenses that were taken by nurses on a daily basis showed that the spoilage rates were quite high at the hospital. After the principles of sustainable use of the available resources had been promoted in the facility, a drop in the variable costs was observed (Rundio, 2016).
Productivity Measurement: Area of Greatest Learning
When considering the aspects of the course that allowed me to gain the greatest amount of information about managing a nursing budget, I must mention the concept of productivity measurement. The idea of measuring performance used to be very vague to me since it was not quite clear what criteria had to be included and what parameters had to be assessed. Now, however, I realize that the process of productivity measurement, though being rather multifaceted, can be embraced.
Furthermore, I have developed the understanding of the strategies that can be used to control the performance levels and keep them consistently high. Thus, productivity measurement was the area of the greatest learning for me.
References
Paterson, M. A. (2014). Healthcare finance and financial management: Essentials for advanced practice nurses and interdisciplinary care teams. Lancaster, PA: DEStech Publications.
Rundio, A. (2016). The nurse manager’s guide to budgeting & finance (2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau.