Thursday, February 27, 2014

Show me the MONEY. Budgeting.

1.    Share what you had expected to learn about the topic before the class.
a.     As we begin, I feel I should tell you…I don’t budget.  It’s not that I haven’t learned that I should, or even how to do it.  I just don’t like it, and would prefer not to do it.  So, I came into this class not expecting much. 
b.    I expected to get the general idea of how to budget for a nursing floor, why we do it and the consequences for poor budgeting.
2.    What you actually learned from the unit.
a.     I learned pretty well what I expected.  We went over the general idea of what a typical (very small) med-surg unit budget looks like.  I will say I was very surprised at how much (even percentage wise) of the budget is devoted to nursing.  No wonder that when budget cuts happen the nurses always get hit hard!  That’s where a lot of money is spent, it seems like the easiest place to start.  I liked your analogy of “low hanging fruit”.  That made a lot of sense to me.
3.    How you will utilize the information learned in your nursing practice.
a.      I believe I will be (even if it’s slightly) more understanding of what managers have to go through for budget cuts.  It hurts them nearly as much as us…(nearly).  All in all, understanding engenders compassion and happiness on a floor.  This makes us better nurses for the institutions that we work for.  We, at some point, will become managers as well.  This prepares us for this task.
4.    Your personal feelings about the material covered.
a.     Interesting as always.  I expected to be bored to tears…but all in all it wasn’t too bad considering the subject matter… 

b.    I also learned (again, but I need to be reminded) the importance of having and keeping a budget.  Grrrrrr.  I’ve got to get it together and stick to one!!

No comments:

Post a Comment