Staffing Budget

Staffing varies according to acuity, number of patient’s, and knowledge base. The operating budget will have a variety of staff levels to factor in along with other resources to run a unit effectively. In this budget acuity has gone up in the last two years and maybe the manager did not plan for this. With the acuity increasing dramatically over two years the focus should be in the cross-training of nurses from other units, which will help during the high acuity times. Cross-training will have a minimal expense in the long run. By having staff trained through out the facility there will be a large pool of people to fill gaps in the schedule or be available when acuity is high. This cross-trained staff that may otherwise been put on low census

The request for additional staff should be analyzed by applying acuity, employee retention, overtime expenses, and patient satisfaction. The personnel budget is under by 11%, which is excellent on paper for management. This needs to be analyzed to determine if staffing is adequate. Also if staffing is sufficient then the overtime budget may be reduced. Another option to factor in for the request for more staff may be an in house flexi pool. They may have a higher percentage in pay, but they are far cheaper than an external agency nurse. Even though flexi nurse employee nurses tend to have a higher salary rate than staff employees, but money will be saved without benefits being provided. Although internal flexi nurses are paid a premium above staff nurses, it is below external agency nurses (May, Bazzoli, & Gerland,

Robb has requested has requested two new continuous limb movement machines for the unit. This request needs to be evaluated further. There is no money in the equipment budget for these machines, but it should be determined if money should be relocated from other areas of the budget. The importance of these machines needs to be evaluated for the importance of their use. Will these machines improve patient outcomes? What is being used now that these machines are not already being used? Will there be a return of investment with these machines that will benefit their investment? Would it be a cost benefit to rent these machines? All of these things need to be analyzed prior to their purchase. Money can also be relocated into the equipment budget for the rental of the machine or the purchase of the machines if it is determined they will be beneficial. The continuous motion device will increase the chances of obtaining range of motion following surgery. This machine will decrease the need for physical therapy and joint manipulation under anesthesia or surgical interventions, which will be cost effective (O’Driscoll & Giori, 2000). The physicians need to be happy and feel comfortable with the unit, staff, and care. Even though these machines should probably be factored into the next fiscal year, the benefits of with their use out way their initial cost and money should be relocated for