Week in Review

I really learned some great information about budgets due to our interview. We interviewed a leader in business outside of healthcare on budgeting and its process. It is always important to get management's perspective to better understand the changes they like to implement. We also worked on a group project for staffing. We were given the statistics as though we were staffing for a hospital with 40 nurses and assistants as well as other staff. We were told what ratios to staff and were asked to prepare a two week calendar. This was a lot harder than it seemed. Everyone needed to get the right amount of hours and all extenuating circumstances needed to be taken into consideration. It was a lengthy project but it turned out pretty nice. It was quite a balancing act to make it work. I have more respect for those in management who have to schedule so many employees and all that goes along with that.

As I mentioned, the group activity did change my mind as to how hard scheduling is. There are so many facets to take into consideration. Making sure everyone has their needs met is challenging. I have a new appreciation for those responsible for scheduling.

In my nursing career I will need to be more mindful of those working with schedules. I think that expanding my own opinions by broadening y own perspective can help me work more as a team with management. It seems much easier to work as a team with coworkers but this can be challenging with management. Sometimes they feel like an enemy of sorts. Understanding their processes such as budgeting and scheduling from their side can help me understand the necessary changes that are implemented at work.

I personally have never liked budgets very much at home. I find them annoying. I understand their need in the workplace though and respect their purpose. After all, it is all about the bottom line. The budget can help us manage and maintain the bottom line at home and at work!