Today is April 1, and you have received the following budget printout. Your charge nurses are requesting an additional RN on each shift since the acuity has increased dramatically over the last 2 years.

Today is April 1, and you have received the following budget printout. Your charge nurses are requesting an additional RN on each shift since the acuity has increased dramatically over the last 2 years. Dr. Robb has requested two new continuous limb movement machines for the postoperative orthopedic patients on your unit at a cost of $3,000 each. In addition, you would like to attend a national orthopedics conference in August at a projected cost of $1,500. The registration fee is $350 and is due now.

Final Assignment (p 2)
Annual Budget Expended in March Expended Year to Date* Amount Remaining
Personnel 300,000 25,000 175,000 125,000
Overtime 50,000 3,800 50,000 0
Supplies 18,000 1,500 13,500 4,500
Travel (personal) 2,200 0 1,700 500
Equipment 5,000 0 5,000 0
Staff development 1,000 200 800 200

*Fiscal year begins July 1
Furthermore, many nurses are complaining of being dissatisfied. On your first day one of the night shift RNs put in her 2-week notice. In addition, the CEO has gotten word from several families that they are dissatisfied with the care their loved ones are receiving from the staff.
Directions
Analyze the situation. Using what you have learned in this course, devise a plan of action to present to the CEO. Be sure to use the theories and concepts presented in this course. Be creative. Feel free to use charts to support your ideas. You are expected to have at least 5 references. This paper should be very detailed and show a concrete plan of how you will run the nursing department.
Be sure to address, at minimum, the following in your paper:
1. How will you deal with the requests based on the budget printout?
2. What expenses can and should be deferred to the new fiscal year?
3. In what budgeting area were your previous projections most accurate? Most inaccurate?
4. What factors may have contributed to these inaccuracies? Were they controllable or predictable?
5. Complete a literature search on patient acuity classification systems. What is the best approach to resolve this issue?
6. What strategies of motivation, communication, care delivery, etc. need to be implemented in order to retain staff?
7. Why is it important for staff to be involved in improving consumer satisfaction?
8. What type of structure would be most effective to make a plan for improvement of consumer satisfaction? Consider who