Role of Professional Nurses and Economic Issues

Roleof Professional Nurses and Economic Issues

Roleof Professional Nurses and Economic Issues

Likeother systems from around the world, the current health care systemis experiencing multiple challenges following severe economic issues.The system is struggling to maintain as well as implement a competentenvironment not only for the patients but also for the personnel. Insuch case, a nurse manager is assigned to the role of enhancingeffective budget planning, forecasting, and even budget control.Besides, research shows that issues of fiscal responsibility andfinancial management are among the significant economic challengesfacing healthcare institutions in the modern world. Professionalnurses thus require considering several variances to reinforce budgetplanning, control, and forecasting.

Bothbudget monitoring and planning are among the significant issues thatthe health care system is struggling to apprehend as well as improve.Nurse Managers face multiple issues regarding budget variance, whichincludes a shortage of personnel due to continuous learning, need forhigher job opportunities, sick calls, and the long process of hiring.At some point, it becomes challenging for a Nurse Manager to neithercontrol the budget nor plan it. However, there are various roles thatProfessional nurses can engage in the system to ensure that theyeffectively plan and manage their budget irrespective of thevariances (Otley, 2016).

Firstly,a Nurse Manager should be in a position to account for all the moneythat has been received as well as spent within the system in a giventime. Failure to account for all the financial practices in ahealthcare system leads to losses. At some point, healthcareinstitutions engage in fraud, incompetence and even negligence, whichcan only be minimized through efficient control systems (Otley,2016). Secondly, the manager should ensure that all people adhere tothe system’s financial policies. Whether transiting from one healthcare institution to another, to the learning organization or evencalling in sick, any issue relating to finances should be handledaccording to the set policies (Palese et al. 2014). Next, NurseManagers should assist other parties within the system to develop andoperate departments or services. Due to the recent changes in thehealthcare system regarding management duties, flexibility has beeninduced in the administration of budgets for instance, at theoperational level, local managers have been assigned the freedom toengage in a broad range of financial decisions (Otley, 2016). Eachyear, health care institutions are assigned a particular amount ofmoney, which is supposed to keep them running for a set period.Fiscal responsibility through individual policies helps NurseManagers to regulate the spending of their institutions to avoidoverspending, which can subject various parties to problems.

Nevertheless,other than budget planning and controlling, forecasting is the bestapproach towards which a health care system can become competent andproductive at all times. Firstly, a Nurse Manager should be able todefine the ‘what-if’ options. The approach profoundly applies inthe case of personnel shifting to learning institutions as well asothers seeking other job opportunities. In such scenario, a competentNurse Manager should be in a state to implement measures that wouldnot financially hurt the system. For instance, it is significant fora Nurse Manager always to monitor his/her staff mix. Organization ofan active team combination ensures that a healthcare system cansurvive for an extended period even after the withdrawal of someemployees (Palese et al. 2014). Besides, the same approach can beachieved through setting multiple goals and assumptions.

References

Otley,D. (2016). The contingency theory of management accounting andcontrol: 1980–2014. Managementaccounting research, 31,45-62.

Palese,A., Vianello, C., Cassone, A., Polonia, M., &amp Bortoluzzi, G.(2014). Financial austerity measures and their effects as perceivedin daily practice by Italian nurses from 2010 to 2011: A longitudinalstudy. Contemporarynurse, 48(2),168-180.