MSN6216 Unit 3 Assignment Latest 2019 January

MSN6216 - Advanced Finance and Operations Management

Unit 3 Assignment

Mentor Interview

Professional Context

Business acumen, including financial management skills, is a key competency for nurse leaders, and a primary responsibility for many is the development and management of operating and capital budgets.

The assignment in this unit involves you speaking with a leader who has experience with creating and managing budgets. You will learn about that person’s approach to budget management and consider techniques or strategies you may emulate when you are creating and managing budgets.

Scenario

You are the nurse manager of a new urgent care clinic, and one of your first tasks is to prepare next year’s operating budget. Like many nurses, you have had little or no direct experience with the budgeting process, and you realize that financial management is not one of your strengths as a leader. Consequently, you have decided to reach out for help from someone in the facility with budgeting experience and financial management expertise who can offer you help and insight.

Instructions

Interview

Conduct an interview with your site supervisor or another nurse leader whom you consider to be a mentor in the area of health care finance. Discuss their experience with operations and capital budgets in their current role or a previous role. Explore the following topics in your interview:

Their experience managing an operating budget.

Their approach to managing productivity within the parameters of the budget.

Their approach to oversight of the appropriate use and availability of equipment and supplies.

Their experience managing a capital budget.

How managing a capital budget differs from managing an operating budget.

Their application of finance principles to fulfill the organization's mission and goals.

Analysis

Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the Mentor Interview Scoring Guide, so be sure to address each point. You may also want to review the performance level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. Additionally, the Guiding Questions: Mentor Interview document, linked in the Resources, provides additional considerations that may be helpful in completing your assignment.

Prepare a written analysis of your findings from the interview, supplemented by your own research and evaluation of budget management techniques.

Compare the process of managing an operating budget to that of managing a capital budget.

Describe the process of allocating resources for labor, equipment, and services.

Describe an effective approach that contributes to planning for profitability and fiscal success.

Evaluate the nurse leader’s approach to budget management.

Write clearly and concisely, using correct grammar and mechanics.

Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support your assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

Note: Remember that you can submit all, or a portion, of your draft analysis to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assignment. However, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback if you plan on using this free service.

Submission Requirements

Format your paper using APA style.

Use the APA Style Paper Template linked in the Resources. An APA Style Paper Tutorial is also provided to help you in writing and formatting your analysis. Be sure to include:

A title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.

A running head on all pages.

Appropriate section headings.

A minimum of five properly-formatted citations and references.

Your executive summary should be 3–5 pages in length, not including the title page and reference page.

Portfolio Prompt: You may choose to save this learning activity to your ePortfolio.