Exam 14: Budgeting and Managing Fiscal Resources

A nurse manager of a medical unit and a nurse manager of a critical care unit are discussing their personnel budgets. The medical unit budget is higher than the critical care unit budget. What are plausible reasons for this difference?

The nurse manager is reviewing the previous month's budget and notes a favorable efficiency variance of the full-time equivalents (FTEs). Which options may be reasons for this favorable variance?

An unfavorable rate variance has occurred in the salary budget of a unit. When investigating this variance, the nurse manager should look for which situations?

A client's spouse is concerned about the cost of hospitalization. The nurse says, "Since your spouse is on Medicare, the hospital will be paid according to the DRG." What does the nurse mean by this statement?

A nurse recruiter is developing a handout to take to nursing schools in hopes of recruiting graduating seniors. The salary for a newly hired nurse is $18.15 per hour with shift differential of 20 percent for working the 7:00 pm to 7:00 am shift. The salary for those who would like to work this shift would be $______ per hour.

A nursing assistant tells a nurse, "I am going to have to call in sick tomorrow because I don't have a babysitter." How should the nurse respond to this information?

The medical-surgical nursing manager notices the education expenditure for the month is over budget. How should the manager deal with this difference?

A hospital has used capital funds to purchase a new piece of diagnostic equipment. The hospital's chief financial officer (CFO) says, "The cost of this equipment will be expensed out across all units that use it." How should the nurse manager interpret this statement?

During an interview with a potential employee, the nurse manager tells the individual that an additional 10 percent of the hourly rate will be paid for working the 7:00 pm-7:00 am shift. What is another way the manager could have described this difference in pay?

A nurse manager has received the following e-mail from the finance department: "Your unit's budget for travel is $1,500 for the fiscal year. The unit's actual expenditures have been $2,120." The unit is over budget by _____ percent.

The nurse manager's goal is to adequately staff the unit and use minimal supplementary staff. The manager has added the cost of this supplementary staff to the unit's operating budget. A colleague informs the manager it should have been added to which budget?

Every month the chief financial officer (CFO) reviews the budget with the hospital's board of directors. The CFO requests a million dollars to purchase a new MRI (magnetic response imaging) unit for the radiology department. Which category best describes this request?

A nurse educator is asked by the chairperson of the department to submit a list of equipment that could be used to meet the department's goals. The list includes projectors, computers, office supplies, and computer-assisted programs. How would the educator categorize the materials?

The newly hired nurse manager is involved in the first budgetary cycle since being hired. The manager lists some capital equipment needs and is surprised when they are not available for staff use two months after the request. What is the reason for this?

As a member of the budgeting committee, the nurse manager reviews the salaries for file clerks in the accounting department. These salaries should be included in which budget item?

The chief nurse officer (CNO) is planning the budget for the coming year. A new position has been added to the nursing administration cost center. The CNO is determining how many benefit hours should be allocated for this new position. Which days should the CNO include in this calculation?

A hospital's budget is incremental. Which statement by the nurse manager reflects use of this type of budget?

The nurse manager is updating the position control sheet for the fiscal year prior to beginning a new budgetary cycle. What would the manager include in this sheet?

With the current health care industry focus on managed care, nurses must be more cost-conscious. Which option is an example of a nurse being cost-conscious?

A nurse manager is trying to educate the staff regarding efficiency and how it affects the unit's costs. Strategies to increase efficiency could include which of the following?