Financial acumen increases nurse leader effectiveness

The prelicensure nursing curriculum rarely includes financial topics, but nurse leaders need financial acumen to be effective, AONL member Vickie Swanson, MSN-HCSM, RN, chief nursing officer at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, Wash., told HealthLeaders Media. Nurses can acquire financial knowledge through AONL’s courses on building a budget, reimbursement models and general accounting principles. Swanson exposes her team to general ledger reviews. She also instructs nurses about contract negotiation and how to use financial data to assess the value of equipment acquisition. “If you're not financially savvy, it's really hard to create the business case for attaining what you need,” she said. (HealthLeaders Media article, 12/24/21)