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Nurses are uniquely positioned to significantly impact organizational and system improvement through improving quality and reducing costs. Using an evidenced based tool to identify costs and the financial benefit involved iii any quality improvement project is invaluable in developing and evaluating proposals and allocation of resources to support the organization's financial health and viability. The return on investment analysis is an essential accounting tool that will provide nurse leaders with critical information quantifying costs and benefits of both financial and nonfinancial metrics to identify the feasibility, efficacy, risk or efficiency of a proposed project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful organizations depend on strategic thinkers who understand strategic planning and strategic management. These strategic leaders can proactively manage the constant environmental changes to position their organizations for a competitive advantage and avoid acting in a reactive and defensive manner. However, while organizations are often adept at developing extensive strategic plans, implementation of the plan is often poor or without a definitive strategy. This article addresses key strategies for successful implementation of changes to bring about sustainable cultural change in an organization to meet the organization's overall strategic goals, specifically through the use of implementation science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health care is a highly competitive environment where managers must compete for finite resources. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services–directed reimbursement models such as value-based purchasing and pay-for-performance heavily focused on quality improvement and nursing excellence are having a major impact on financial reimbursement for health care services in the United States. As such, nurse leaders must function in a business-focused environment where decisions regarding resource allocation are driven by quantifiable data, the potential return on investment, and the organization's ability to provide quality patient care in an efficient manner. It is imperative for nurse leaders to recognize the financial impact of potential additional revenue streams, as well as avoidable costs. Nurse leaders must also be skilled at translating the return on investment for nursing-centric programs and initiatives, often hidden in anecdotal terms and cost avoidance rather than revenue generation, to ensure appropriate resource allocation and budgetary assumptions. This article uses a case study framed within the business case to review a structured approach to operationalizing nursing-centric programs and highlights key strategies for success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2021, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) endorsed and published a report that included a reenvisioned framework for nursing education. This report introduced innovative and bold ideas for transforming nursing education and pedagogy from a concept-based model to a competency-based model of nursing education. This new model of nursing education establishes a core set of expectations and standards of competency-based nursing curricula common to all nursing educational programs moving forward. Before this transformative change can occur, nurse educators must first understand what is expected of them before they can adapt current nursing curricula to meet the future needs of our communities and employers. This article will dissect the Re-envisioned Essentials and provide the reader with new terminology introduced by the Essentials document, as well as the core expectations and standards established by the AACN for future nursing education and curricula. With this new understanding, we will introduce and discuss strategies supporting the transitional process of moving from concept-based educational models to competency-based models using a think-backward approach to change that begins with an alignment of program-level learning outcomes with national standards and working backwards to build assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A business case plan (BCP) provides a structured framework for evidence-based, transparent business decisions. It is an essential tool that when written well will provide you with the means to translate the cost and benefits of nursing practice proposals, often related in anecdotal terms, into quantifiable, evidence-based terms outlining return on investment and business advantages of investing in nursing initiatives. The BCP should include an analysis of the problem and associated needs, the proposed solutions with options, goals for success, implementation, and evaluation plans, as well as a risk-adjusted cost-benefit analysis. It contains the necessary information to allow decision makers to make well-informed decisions regarding resource allocation. As clinical experts seeking to compete for finite resources in the health care arena, nursing leadership must bridge the language gap between nursing and business finance. This article outlines the required elements of the BCP to provide you with a practical working definition of each element to support your future initiatives in the business of health care improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An organization's financial statements reflect their financial well-being and determine their ability to meet the health care needs of the citizens in their community. It is imperative that nursing leadership recognize the key components of an organization's annual consolidated financial state- ments, the balance sheet and income statement, and know how to interpret them to provide efficient, high-quality health care and to be successful in their role as nurse leaders. This article provides exemplars of these key documents with detailed instructions for the interpretation and understanding of the organization's financial statements,which will enable the reader to accurately and adeptly interpret their own organization's financial statements, as well as the statements from other organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Educating health care providers is dependent on developing high-quality clinical preceptors, yet preceptors face widespread challenges to precepting, such as time constraints and lack of formal preceptor training. Local problem: Our college of nursing conducted a needs assessment survey of our preceptors to better understand the barriers to and incentives for precepting. Formal preceptor training was identified as an intervention to support preceptors. Methods: Based on survey responses and a literature review of best practices, a preceptor training program was developed and delivered to local health care partners. Posttraining surveys were used to measure the effectiveness of the training. Intervention: We developed a one-hour formal preceptor training program. The main components included 1) orienting a student, 2) applying the Recorder/Reporter-Interpreter-Manager-Educator (RIME) framework for clinical evaluation, 3) One-Minute Preceptor (OMP) methodology for clinical teaching, 4) strategies for giving students feedback, and 5) communicating with the university. Results: Preceptor training was delivered to health care providers (N = 58) at eight clinics and one nurse practitioner (NP) professional group. Most participants (86%) had never received training in the RIME framework or OMP method (80%). The participants rated the following aspects of training as very useful or moderately useful: Orientation checklist (100%), RIME framework (96%), and OMP (100%). Conclusions: We found that training preceptors on evidence-based, time-efficient strategies for precepting is feasible and valuable. If continued and expanded, this training may positively affect retention and recruitment of preceptors for our university's NP students. This training may be transferable to other geographical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to determine the impact of specific measures to reduce the length of stay (LOS) in an emergency department (ED) in a critical access hospital (CAH). BACKGROUND: Despite mandates to reduce bottlenecks by increasing throughput, many EDs are not successful. Strategies available to larger hospitals may not be feasible for resource-limited CAHs. METHODS: Interventions were implemented to decrease ED LOS in a rural CAH. Through retrospective chart reviews from time periods both preimplementation and postimplementation, the LOS was determined and compared using 2-sample t tests. RESULTS: Significant decreases were found between the groups in mean LOS times, as well as specific time intervals within the overall LOS time for nursing-centric activities and incidence of patients leaving prior to treatment completion. CONCLUSIONS: A significant decrease in LOS resulted from numerous actions taken to improve patient flow. Results may be used to enhance patient flow and decrease LOS in other CAHs, improving quality and access to care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study that examined the impact of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) on hospital readmissions from skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Highlights include adjusted 30-day readmission rates among 14,666 SNFs in the U.S. from 2011 to 2015, the link between lower readmission rates and SNF attributes, and a decrease in SNF-related readmissions associated with HRRP.