Talking the Talk: Financial Skills for Nurse Leaders

Abstract

The importance of effective execution of financial management may be more arguably more relevant today than when first established by the Healthcare Leadership Alliance (HLA) over a decade ago. Since the 6 key health care agencies (American College Healthcare Executives [ACHE], American College of Physician Executives [ACPE], American Organization of Nurse Executives [AONE], Healthcare Finance Management Association [HFMA], Healthcare Information Management Systems Society [HIMSS], and Medical Group Management Association [MGMA]) convened and identified 5 core competencies shared by all health care leaders. The key imperatives included communication and relationship management, professionalism, knowledge of the health care environment, leadership, and business acumen. 1 Although the health care landscape has continued to evolve, these essential skills remain relevant today. Administrators must lead through ever-changing reimbursement models, work to continually improve patient satisfaction indicators, affect hospital quality metrics, and close the labor shortage gap during a time of political unknowns of health care reform. The demand for care, coupled with comorbidities of an aging population, and a diminishing supply as Baby Boomer nurses retire, has led to stress on health care systems across the nation. As the general population ages, so, too, does the nursing workforce. The average age of the registered nurse is 50 years or greater. 2 The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a nurse vacancy rate of 1.09 million by 2024. 3