NURS FPX 6216 Assessment 2 Preparing and Managing an Operating Budget

Preparing and Managing the Operation Budget

NURS FPX 6216 Assessment 2 Preparing and Managing an Operating Budget. Healthcare management is a constantly changing area of quality care that involves organizing, planning, and assessing organizational setup in order to improve clinical outcomes and care quality. In this area, the nursing leader manages the operating budget, enhances employee and patient satisfaction, and empowers the team through creativity (Brennan & Wendt, 2021). A leader’s business savvy, workplace amenities, and understanding of healthcare management and resource allocation all play a role in their capacity to plan and distribute workplace finances, implement current system trends, and create an adequate budget that enables them to use income and generate revenue in an appropriate manner.

According to research, nursing leaders can improve their practices by learning about business skills (Alsadaan et al., 2023). This will help them expand their healthcare facilities, give them the ability to make complex decisions, and provide patient-centered care. According to Sonmez-Cakir and Adiguzel (2020), leaders can enhance their competency in delivering standard care practices by putting their business and economic knowledge into practice. It enables nursing leaders to implement creative changes in their healthcare facility while being mindful of staff and patient needs and managing staff and patient satisfaction in a unique way.

NURS FPX 6216 Assessment 2 Preparing and Managing an Operating Budget

Likewise, studies have demonstrated that effective nursing management can improve patient outcomes by limiting the transmission of medical errors, which impacts morale and productivity across the entire organization (Specchia et al., 2021). The integration of safe, effective, and high-quality patient care is strengthened by strong leadership. The creation and administration of an operating budget as a nursing manager of a hospital with 35 beds and 20 full-time equivalent staff members is the subject of the current evaluation. 

The purpose of this assessment is to use the current workforce, manage the risk of turnover and retention issues, and create and oversee a budget for the unit I oversee. The goal of creating this budget is to make sure that it is in line with the requirements of the organization. I am fortunate to have a team that is willing to assist with additional shifts. 

Operating Budget 

An operating budget is a thorough projection of the costs and income of a company for a given time frame. It serves as a guide for how much money the organization will need to run and is planned as a goal of what to expect during a given period. Usually prepared for a year, it is an estimated cost prepared to manage the expenses based on the fixed and varying costs, including the anticipated revenue generated throughout the year and the expected expenses. According to Abdulsalam and Schneller (2019), a small hospital’s expenses include medical supplies, utilization, bills, training and development costs, appraisals, bonuses, devices, and technology maintenance costs. While revenue is determined by patient satisfaction with hospital services, research grants, and other factors, all of these factors are critical for staff satisfaction and retention rates. charity funding

In order to manage the budget and improve patient-centered care, my facility’s budget was designed to increase staff satisfaction and retention. I created a one-year operating budget, breaking it up into three quarters for analysis and evaluation to make sure the plan is in line with organizational objectives, fulfills patient care needs, and improves employee retention. Patient-centered care and staff retention are prioritized in the current budget. Through performance reviews, bonuses, telehealth integration, and team-building training, the goal is to improve employee retention. At the same time, the main goals of patient-centered care are infrastructure modification, medical supply acquisition, and evaluation. Research has demonstrated that patient satisfaction and staff retention contribute to better clinical outcomes, guaranteeing the greatest possible organizational benefits for both.  staff and patients (Specchia et al., 2021).

NURS FPX 6216 Assessment 2 Preparing and Managing an Operating Budget

Obtaining baseline data that can assist in gathering information about the organization’s current state is crucial for the creation of a sufficient budget. The goal of employing these two data collection techniques is to obtain information from both internal and external sources in order to improve understanding of the prior budget, as well as the hospital’s shortcomings, problems, and requirements. This will assist the nurse leader in compiling data into more thorough budgeting trends. 

In order to assess the use of financial resources, the SWOT analysis assists in identifying the organization’s opportunities, threats, weaknesses, and strengths. The annual costs are determined by staff salaries, the budget allotted for new hires, training, overtime compensation, appraisals, medical supplies, medication evaluations, research, technology upkeep, management of hygiene protocols, and patient surveys. In addition, patient care, research grants, charitable contributions, medical assistance, and employee retention are the main sources of income. However, there may be some unknown factors about the costs of adverse events, emergent dealings, lack of motivation or brain drains, and patient influx issues during the planning, management, or implementation of the operating budget. These uncertainties could result in an unanticipated increase in expenses or necessitate the immediate allocation of resources. 

Table 1 (a):

Budget category and the Expense per year (USD$)

Budget Category	Expense Per Year (USD $)
Staff Salaries	800,000
New hiring	300,000
Compensation of Budget	200,000
Appraisal and bonuses	300,000
Assessment funds	300,000
Medical supplies	200,000
Medication	400,000
Research and training	300,000
Maintenance of Technology	150,000
Hygiene management	200,000
Total expense	2,950,000

Table 1 (b):

Budget category and the Expense per year (USD$) 

Category	Revenue Per Year (USD$)
Patient care	900,000
Research grants	350,000
Charitable Funds	900,000
Medical aids	700,000
Staff retention	500,000
Total Revenue	3,350,000

The revenue exceeds the expense, according to the current estimate of revenue and expenses. The budget aids in illustrating how revenue exceeds projected costs, such as hiring and compensation, which can be promptly recouped through employee retention and financial security. In a similar vein, grants and donations can help the organization increase its return on investment (ROI) by covering the costs of training.

Budget Creation and Designing

An organized and methodical process, budget design and creation entails meticulous planning, analysis, and decision-making while separating contradicting data to preserve consistency and transparency and guarantee that the data is grounded in factual information and is financially sound. Strategic planning and budgeting are used to create the budget. Specifically, the budget goals are established by compiling data from past patterns and emphasizing elements that are important in the development and design of the budget. When developing and designing a healthcare budget, research has shown that patient expectations, available resources, and organizational economic conditions are important considerations (Nilsen et al., 2020).

Since the organization’s financial situation is taken into consideration when creating the budget, it is entirely dependent on the amount of money that would be spent and the availability of research that can be assigned or contracted out. The proper distribution of resources can be aided by the need analysis carried out prior to resource allocation. In a similar vein, expectations and the retention of patients and employees are crucial in exposing the organization’s advantages, disadvantages, risks, and growth prospects. In a similar vein, it is critical to recognize that the budget may vary based on the availability of these resources as economic demands change.

NURS FPX 6216 Assessment 2 Preparing and Managing an Operating Budget

Data gathered from sources like need-based analysis and baseline assessments to create our budget. The data is then divided using SWOT analysis, which helps the organization to thoroughly assess the data spread, strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. This helps the organization identify the important elements, like appraisals, salaries, increments, and other benefits, to make the budget more effective and people-friendly. Following this, the budget is divided among various departments, including labor, maintenance, and services. The plan is then recorded, emphasizing each retention initiative and how it fits into the organization’s financial strategy. 

Additionally, the plan is tracked and assessed while maintaining a budgetary loop of flexibility for unforeseen events that enable the organization to make timely adjustments. As the cost can vary due to different rates and vendor demands for different departments based on varying assumptions like inflation, changes in market trends, sales forecasts, patient preferences, and risk assessments, it was crucial to acknowledge conflicting information when developing a budget, including the estimation of expenses and the projection of revenue.

Strategic Plan and Evaluation Criteria

Developing a strategic plan is a comprehensive process that begins with aligning the financial plan with the organization’s mission. Strategic planning starts with defining precise goals that the organization supports and that are measurable and attainable. Strategic planning caters to the current needs, evaluates the current resources, helps identify the uncertainty within the system, and prepares staff and leaders to adjust along with it. Our budgeting was based on employee retention and patient-centered care. Both of these goals are the goals of our organization and are interlinked, as patient-centered care is only possible when skilled employees are retained and satisfied. 

Executive leaders are more likely to approve the budget because each budget expense has a justification that explains why the change is necessary. The budget includes some nice things, like improving the nursing staff’s lounge to provide better infrastructure, but these changes are already included in the budget that was previously presented. The budget’s primary goals are to lower employee turnover, boost patient-centered care, and enhance professionals’ skill sets. Therefore, it is crucial to increase the retention rate of skilled workers and decrease turnover. The strategy that was created was:

Employee Retention

The foundation of employee retention is keeping employees with competitive pay and benefits packages. The goal is to create a productive workplace culture that prioritizes employee well-being and upholds the essential values of diversity, acceptance, and inclusivity. By enabling the organization to collaborate with qualified professionals, staff retention enhances its operation (Weyman et al., 2023). In a similar vein, many workers are willing to put in extra hours; benefits and pay should be offered; salaries will be adjusted; and performance-based raises can foster a sense of love, appreciation, and care for the employees, strengthening their bonds with the company and increasing their level of satisfaction.

Employee retention can also be improved by creating market-competitive benefits packages, offering chances for advancement, and creating interprofessional development initiatives. To lower turnover, employee retention can be evaluated on an annual basis. Employee retention rates can be assessed with the use of benchmarks and an employee satisfaction survey.

Patient-Centered Care 

Through efficient communication and instruction, the goal is to improve patient involvement and deliver coordinated care. Engaging the patient in their care can be achieved through the implementation of a patient feedback system and the encouragement of a culture of empathy and individualized treatment (Kwame & Petrucka, 2021). Even though this facility is for senior citizens, these modifications can help them manage their care better. Surveys and feedback from patients can be used to assess satisfaction levels and lower the rate of readmissions, hospital-acquired infections, and complaints.

Training and Development

Through a design curriculum, training and development can create thorough training for both newly hired and current employees. It can also promote cross-functional team training and skill development. In a similar vein, funding leadership development initiatives can support efficient operation. Clinical quality indicators like lower infection rates, better patient outcomes, improved interpersonal collaboration, and a return on investment calculation for training based on employee performance, patient outcomes, and cost savings are used for evaluation.

Ongoing Budget Management

After we create a budget, the budgeting process begins. The aforementioned budget will operate cyclically, necessitating analysis, development, management, and constant observation. Budget management is a continuous process. The strategy for the ongoing budget will be divided into two stages. The first will involve gathering data every three months, which will be used to track quality indicators like staff retention, hospital-acquired infection rates, and medical error rates and to evaluate the budget’s long-term viability through reports. Quarterly reports from each department will be given, and a SWOT analysis will be performed to assess the information acquired and make adjustments to the budget. It is predicated on the idea that clinical quality problems can be eliminated with the aid of positive environmental changes, gratitude, and elevated employee satisfaction.

NURS FPX 6216 Assessment 2 Preparing and Managing an Operating Budget

Additionally, it is assumed that the training will enable the staff to use patient-centered care and gain confidence in their work, which will lessen defensive treatments. Last but not least, the whole budget approach is predicated on the idea that environmental improvements can enhance clinical results and employee satisfaction, resulting in long-term success and income production. By monitoring employees’ clock-in and clock-out times, assessing the quality of overtime, allocating suitable tasks and benefits to staff, offering paid time certificates, or providing compensation in the form of bonuses and appraisals, the current spending plan aims to cut down on non-productive time. 

In a similar vein, encouraging a work-life balance culture to support nurses’ shift work schedules will allow them to relax and increase their output. Research has shown that working overtime has a negative psychological impact, lowers morale, and affects work productivity (Wong et al., 2019). Additionally, the recurring budget for supplies and equipment is linked to maintenance, which can be controlled by accurately utilizing technology and making use of services within the capacity limit. 

Conclusion

To sum up, the current evaluation was predicated on creating an operating budget for a small facility with 35 beds and 20 equivalent staff members. The budget prioritizes patient-centered care and staff retention. A need analysis was used to create the planned budget. identifying trends, opportunities, and threats using a SWOT analysis and balanced scorecard to assist the organization in addressing the problem of employee turnover while also focusing on patient-centered care. Additionally, it was proposed that training and development, patient-centered care, and staff retention would help with turnover issues, and that prompt evaluation and modification would help with budgeting. https://etutors.us/nurs-fpx-6216-assessment-1/

References 

1. Abdulsalam, Y., & Schneller, E. (2019). Hospital supply expenses: An important ingredient in health services research. Medical Care Research and Review, 76(2), 240–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558717719928 
2. Alsadaan, N., Salameh, B., Reshia, F. A. A. E., Alruwaili, R. F., Alruwaili, M., Awad Ali, S. A., Alruwaili, A. N., Hefnawy, G. R., Alshammari, M. S. S., Alrumayh, A. G. R., Alruwaili, A. O., & Jones, L. K. (2023). Impact of nurse leaders behaviors on nursing staff performance: A systematic review of literature. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 60, 004695802311785. https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580231178528 
3. Brennan, D., & Wendt, L. (2021). Increasing quality and patient outcomes with staff engagement and shared governance. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 26(2). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol26No02PPT23
4. Kwame, A., & Petrucka, P. M. (2021). A literature-based study of patient-centered care and communication in nurse-patient interactions: Barriers, facilitators, and the way forward. BMC Nursing, 20(1), 158. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00684-2 

NURS FPX 6216 Assessment 2 Preparing and Managing an Operating Budget

1. Nilsen, P., Seing, I., Ericsson, C., Birken, S. A., & Schildmeijer, K. (2020). Characteristics of successful changes in healthcare organizations: An interview study with physicians, registered nurses and assistant nurses. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 147. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-4999-8 
2. Sonmez Cakir, F., & Adiguzel, Z. (2020). Analysis of leader effectiveness in organization and knowledge sharing behavior on employees and organization. SAGE Open, 10(1), 215824402091463. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020914634
3. Specchia, M. L., Cozzolino, M. R., Carini, E., Di Pilla, A., Galletti, C., Ricciardi, W., & Damiani, G. (2021). Leadership styles and nurses’ job satisfaction. Results of a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1552. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041552
4. Weyman, A. K., Glendinning, R., Costa, J., O’Hara, R., Roy, D., & Nolan, P. (2023). Should I stay or should I go? NHS staff retention in the post COVID-19 world: Challenges and prospects. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7611656 
5. Wong, K., Chan, A. H. S., & Ngan, S. C. (2019). The effect of long working hours and overtime on occupational health: A meta-analysis of evidence from 1998 to 2018. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(12), 2102. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122102 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: What is the job of innovation in tolerant focused care?

Innovation works with correspondence, upgrades patient commitment, and guarantees exact documentation, supporting a more customized way to deal with care.

Q2: How might nurses improve interprofessional joint effort?

Nurses can encourage joint effort by plainly imparting patient requirements, partaking in group gatherings, and regarding the aptitude of different experts.

Q3: What are instances of patient-focused intercessions?

Models incorporate including patients in care arranging, tending to social inclinations, and giving schooling custom-made to individual necessities.

Q4: For what reason shows restraint focused care significantly?

It upgrades patient fulfillment, further develops adherence to treatment plans, and prompts better well being results.

Q5: How might associations uphold these practices?

Associations can give preparing, assign assets, and make approaches that energize patient-focused care and cooperation.