Power, Finance, and Control, Coursework Example

Introduction

Healthcare finance is a complex issue that leads to many significant challenges for employees and their organizations. In addition, patients are often challenged in the context of their care and treatment when the costs of healthcare are too excessive. It is important for nurses in a leadership capacity to understand their roles in managing healthcare finance and how they contribute to effective outcomes in promoting efficiency and cost containment strategies. It is evident that these factors play a critical role in shaping patient outcomes and the quality of care that is offered to patients in need. Nurse leaders must be provided with an opportunity to explore the underpinnings of healthcare finance and the issues that may have a direct impact on patient care quality. These elements often demonstrate that nurse leaders should play a critical role in these processes and should demonstrate their knowledge and wherewithal with their patients by providing much needed feedback and insight regarding the costs associated with high quality patient care and treatment.

Analysis

Nurse leaders serve in a unique role as they express their views regarding their personal experiences in treating patients. These roles and expectations must be integrated into cost effectiveness and containment strategies, while also considering how quality of care might be compromised under specific circumstances (Hoeger et.al, 2009). At the same time, it is important to identify areas where quality of care and treatment might not be effective when cost reductions are too excessive (Hoeger et.al, 2009). From a nurse leader perspective, it is likely that there is a strong need to address budget containment strategies in the context of care and treatment so that these concerns are not compromised (Hoeger et.al, 2009). As nurse leaders progress up the ladder, it is likely that their input regarding quality of care and treatment will continue to expand so that cost effective yet high quality care are provided at all times (Hoeger et.al, 2009).

The quality of patient care must continue to be consistent and appropriate in order to meet their needs as effectively as possible. Nurses provide input in this area through their contributions to promote quality in the patient care setting. However, it is evident that patient care outcomes are often attributed to the cost of the time that nurses spend with patients (Storfjell et.al, 2008). These circumstances play an important role in determining how to best move forward in achieving patient care outcomes while also managing costs effectively (Storfjell et.al, 2008). Much of the costs associated with patient care are directly related to salaries and wages for nurses; therefore, these costs must be considered as nurses grow and expand their roles and level of power in many work environments (Storfjell et.al, 2008). However, nurses who emerge in leadership roles are important because they demonstrate the importance of new ideas and approaches to enhance quality of care; however, they also influence the level of power that nurses possess and may have an impact on patient care outcomes in different settings (Storfjell et.al, 2008).

Nurse leaders must demonstrate their understanding of the different principles and approaches to patient care and treatment that will lead to successful outcomes. However, they do not always possess the skill set that is required to manage financial matters and budgets in an effective manner (Golden, 2008).Therefore, expanded education in budgets and financing must be provided to nurses in order to ensure that patient care outcomes and related costs are considered on a regular basis so that cost effectiveness is achieved whenever possible (Golden, 2008). Since nurses are not primarily responsible for administrative roles in many organizations, they often possess limited education in these areas and find it difficult to be successful in a budgetary or administrative capacity (Golden, 2008). Therefore, they must be provided with training and education in this manner in order to make effective decisions and provide input in this capacity (Golden, 2008). As a key component of this practice, it is important to identify the issues that are most relevant in the nursing unit that require cost efficiencies but that will also improve quality of care and treatment for patients (Sherman and Pross, 2010). Nurses working across different units must be able to use the resources that they are given in an effective manner, and this includes the creation of a positive and meaningful nursing work environment (Sherman and Pross, 2010). Nurses, however, must also experience a greater sense of comfort in their ability to be effective in achieving positive patient care outcomes through cohesive working relationships across all nursing units between nurse leaders and their employees (Sherman and Pross, 2010).

Conclusion

Nurse leaders often express their views regarding budgets and cost effectiveness in order to support patient outcomes. At the same time, it is important to identify different perspectives so that nurse leaders provide valuable input regarding high quality patient care. Furthermore, it is important to identify the different alternatives that are available so that nurses provide this input effectively. Nonetheless, it is necessary to identify new approaches so that patient care outcomes are not compromised when budget cuts and cost containment strategies are required. It is necessary for nurse leaders to contribute in this manner, but to also recognize that excessive power and input from nurses may not always be the most practical solution. An effective balance must be drawn so that nurses are provided with the means to contribute, so as long as their input does not compromise patient care quality across all areas.

References

Golden, T.W. (2008). Connecting the dots: responding to the challenges of budget and finance education for nurse leaders. Nurse Leader, 48-52.

Hoeger, P.B., Wilson, J.C., and Evans, J.H. (2009). Cultivating nurse leaders form the bedside to the boardroom. Nurse Leader, 41-50.

Sherman, R., and Pross, E. (2010). Growing future nurse leaders to build and sustain healthy work environments at the unit level. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 15(1), retrieved from http://gm6.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol152010/No1Jan2010/Growing-Nurse-Leaders.aspx

Storfjell, J.L., Omoike, O., and Ohlson, S. (2008). The balancing act: patient care time versus cost. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 38(5), 244-249.