Managing cost and budget is a risky task which requires careful planning and flexibility on the part of the manager. Additionally, the manager nurse is required to have good decision making so that the resources available are used adequately to meet the goals. However, a nurse who is a manager needs to have good leadership skills which are essential in the time of crisis. The absences of one registered nurse at the City Medical Center require sound decision-making skills and good leadership. This is to make sure services delivery to patients is not compromised, and all the staffs are satisfied (Huber, 2013).
/>
The use of the Per Diem would be a viable option to cover up for the absence of the RN. However, the hospital salary expense will increase by $ 9/hr creating a deficit in the budget. The hospital may not have extra finances in its budget to cover for this additional expense. Furthermore, Per Diems are not permanent staffs and may refuse to work when they are called upon to work hence they are not reliable option. It’s common knowledge that Per Diem can work up to five different hospitals per day depending on the demand and shift hours. Thus, they may report to work exhausted. This will prevent them from discharging their duties well. As a result of not being permanent staffs and fatigue, the patient's safety would be at risk (Neville et al., 2013). The Per Diem not may not discharge their duties properly hence putting then life of patients in danger.
The staffs would be satisfied with overtime since they will be able to make extra money. The patient safety might not be guaranteed because the staffs may exhaust themselves in pursuing of extra finances that come by working overtime (Neville et al., 2013). On the other hand, salary expenses will increase by 50% if all the staffs are to work overtime. The budget cannot support this increase in the expense. The management may be forced to borrow finance from other sources or discontinue other programs to support the increment of the salary expense (Huber, 2013).
Therefore, the nurse manager must use his/her managerial and leadership skills to convince the available staffs to cover up for the RN on the medical leave since it’s only for six weeks. The manager nurse should emphasize to the staff that the current budget cannot manage extra workforce. Thus, duties of the RN on leave should be delegated to other staffs available equitably so that no one feels overwhelm (Huber, 2013). The delegation of duties will also give a chance to junior staffs to advance their career. As such, the patient's safety will be guaranteed since there will be no new member of staff who does not understand the history of patients. Chances of exhaustion on staffs will be minimized since duties will be distrusted equitably.
Reference
Huber, D. (2013). Leadership and nursing care management. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Neville, K., & Cole, D. A. (2013). The relationships among health promotion behaviors, compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction in nurses practicing in a community medical center. Journal of Nursing Administration,43(6), 348-354.
