The purpose of this study was to assess unit based nurse manager’s training and educational experiences related to cost and cost management in the acute care hospital setting. A secondary aim was to compare the mean responses from the business domain of the Nurse Manager Inventory Tool by educational preparation and professional role.
Methods:
This feasibility study was designed to assess the knowledge and educational preparation and practices of unit based nurse managers related to cost and cost management. The Nurse Manager Inventory Tool developed by the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), and American Organization of perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) to assess requisite skills and behaviors of the successful nurse manager20 was used to examine mean responses from unit based nurse managers in the business domain of success for managers. A secondary aim was to compare the mean responses from the business domain by educational preparation and professional role.
Participants: A randomized convenience sample of 175 registered nurses completed an anonymous Qualtric survey containing questions from the Nurse Manager Assessment Tool. Potential candidates were contacted through public Facebook posts on multiple professional Facebook webpages that included AONE, ANA, ASNA, AORN, ANCC, Sigma Thet Tau, and Golden Key International.
Power Analysis. Using G-Power, we determined that a sample of 172 would be sufficient to achieve 90% to detect a medium effect size (.25) using a one-way between-groups ANOVA with two-groups at a .05% significance level.
Results:
Based on the findings of this study nurse managers self-reported that they did not comprehend financial concepts when presented in their undergraduate degree programs. Nurses who graduated from associate degree or two year programs reported that they did not receive financial concepts within their programs at all. Only as nurses moved into the post-graduate masters or doctorate programs did they report competence with financial concepts. It was also noted that years of experience in a management role did not alter the individual nurse managers self-perception of financial and business competence. It was significant that years of experience and education did not correlate with an increasing level of self-perceived competency.
Conclusion:
Promotion to the role of unit based manager has typically been based upon clinical proficiency and interpersonal skill.9-14 The practice of promoting nurse managers based upon clinical excellence, often with only the undergraduate degree, assures the new manager has not received adequate preparation for managing the business aspect of patient care.4,7 Neither traditional undergraduate nursing programs nor continuing educational courses adequately prepare nurses for the transition from staff nurse to nurse manager.4,7