Assignment: Financial statements and quality patient care

Financial statements and quality patient care
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I. Correlation between financial statements and quality of care
a) Do nurse leaders have a role in managing financial statements?
Nurse leader: Nurse Leaders do not directly deal with financial statements. However, they have to possess some financial skills because their role is changing. For instance, every month I have to make budgets that reflect the financial position of the hospital. I can only accomplish this if I have adequate financial competencies.
b) Does the financial status of a hospital influence the quality of care delivered?
Nurse leader: This question seems simple but it’s very difficult to answer. Any hospital under financial pressure will struggle even to purchase basic medication. However, some hospitals are financially strong but they are more interested in profits than investing in equipment that improves patient care. Nevertheless, financial status affects patient care.
Summary
Generally, nurse leaders are known as people who manage nursing departments or units. However, the interview reveals that nurse leaders must have financial competencies since they have to make budgets for various departments. This finding is consistent with the study of Naranje (2019), which revealed that in today’s environment where hospitals are faced with limited budgets and economic constraints, nurse leaders must possess financial competencies because traditional management skills are no longer sufficient.
In terms of whether there is a correlation between financial status and quality of care, the interview revealed a mixed response. The interview revealed that hospitals experiencing financial pressure may struggle to deliver quality patient care. Indeed, some aspects of care such as the availability of medication, syringes, and bed-sheets may be compromised in hospitals with declining financial status. However, studies have also found out that even in hospitals with strong financial position, patients may still receive poor care because there are no adequate beds, nursing staff, or physicians (Akinleye et al., 2019; Richter and Muhlestein, 2017). Likewise, the interview revealed that although strong financial status affects the quality of care, some hospitals have strong financial positions yet they do not invest in the care delivered to patients.
II. The use of financial statements to improve patient care
a) How do you use financial statements to improve patient care?
Nurse leader: Basically, financial statements dictate every attempt we make to improve patient care. If we want to purchase any technology that improves care delivery, we have to evaluate our financial statements first before making any decisions.
b) How do you decide which aspect of patient care you will improv...