Instructions/Guidelines for NSG 4431 Budget/Staffing Paper

 

1)     This is not an opinion paper, research project or study but a paper that utilizes Evidence-Based Practice to better understand the Budget and Staffing process as a nurse leader/manager.

2)     The paper is due to your clinical faculty & should be 5-6 pages (not including title & reference pages) and should be written in scholarly form. DO NOT add “extra space” to increase the length of the paper. Do not write in first, second or third person OR use the following: this, that, it, do not give names of individuals. DO NOT write in question form. See the specific list given in the APA Notes. Deductions will apply EACH time these instructions regarding writing are not followed.

3)     NO QUOTES! Paraphrase all information in your own words. The anti-plagiarism site, Turnitin, will be used for submission of the paper. If there are large similarities to ANY sources, MAJOR deductions for plagiarism will be given.

4)     Do a search for the literature using the Troy Online Library to find at least 3 articles of studies published in peer-reviewed, scholarly journals and published within the last 5 years in professional journals. These articles should be published studies from journals and related to leadership, management, budget and/or staffing. DO NOT use unpublished Master’s theses or unpublished doctoral dissertations, as these sources are not published in a journal but available from a repository. The published journal articles should be studies related to the topic and used as resources to support the information in the paper. Use these journal articles to write and give support to the information in the paper. One or more chapters from text can/should also be used as additional resources to support the information. However, the specific chapter author(s) must be cited and referenced correctly. See the document in the APA Notes Module.

 

Parts of the Paper

 

5)     The first page: Title page as per the BSN Guide to Scholarly Papers. This document is available in the course. The title page is the first page of the paper. The information and spacing is in the above guide. Be sure to do the running head & pagination correctly. The font of the running head and page numbers are the same as the paper – Times New Roman size 12. The running head must be an abbreviated version of the title of the paper. Do not put the entire title of the paper as the running head. Use a shorten version of the title for the running head. The title of the paper should be related to the topic of the paper. For assistance regarding the running head, see page 229 of the APA manual. Failure to follow instructions will result in unnecessary APA penalties. Use the above document for this paper and all papers in the RN Mobility Program.

6)     No abstract is needed for this paper. No table of contents page is NOT needed for this paper. DO NOT include this in the paper.

7)     Introduction: This is the first section of the paper and starts on the next page after the title page. Describe the unit & facility in general terms. Do not give names or addresses. Describe the purpose of the paper. There is not a heading for this section nor should the title of the paper be repeated for this section/part, as there is not an abstract or a table of contents for this paper and this section immediately follows the title page. The introduction should be ½ to ¾ of a page in length.

8)     Describe the Staffing (Heading, centered and bold) given in the following: The method of staffing on the unit; the method of care delivery. Analyze why this method of care delivery is used. Cite all information.

a.     Personnel (Subheading, left margin, bold) Determine the personnel mix on each shift. List the number of RNs, LPNs, CNAs, Respiratory Techs etc. for any given day. The mix is/is not adequate for the acuity of the patients. Describe the types of shifts. Any flexibility in shift hours? Sharing of shifts? Cite supporting information.

b.     Workload (Subheading, left margin, bold) How does the nurse manager analyze the workload and make staffing decisions accordingly? Give specific examples without giving names. Do staff members feel staffing is adequate and do the members have any input into staffing decisions? Describe. Cite supporting information.

9)     Describe the Budget (Heading, centered and bold) given in the following: Identify and discuss the type of budget plan used on the unit of preceptorship. Identify the “time frame” for the budget – describe the time frame fully. Cite supporting information.

1. Reimbursement (Subheading, left margin, bold) Describe how Nursing is directly/or indirectly reimbursed for nursing services. Identify services for which nursing is directly reimbursed and which services are not reimbursed. How does the nurse manager have input into determining staff salaries? Discuss. Cite supporting information.
2. Staff Input (Subheading, left margin, bold) Describe whether or how staff are aware of the budget and whether or not there is input. If not input, discuss whether this would be an advantage or disadvantage. Cite supporting information.

10)  Do an Analysis (Heading, centered and bold) Based on readings from the literature and actual long-term statistical, describe whether the budget and staffing adequate. If cuts in budget, staffing or both needed, describe if these actions would have a detrimental effect on the unit. Cite supporting information. If an increase in budget was needed, staffing or both describe how the process by which this changes may be made. Discuss and give support from the literature. This section is the Analysis – several paragraphs are necessary to thoroughly discuss the information. Use the literature to support.

11)  Summary (Heading, centered and bold) Conclude the paper and summarize the information. DO NOT START In conclusion…..as this is redundant and the information is immediately following the heading. This section need to be ½ to ¾ of a page in length. Cite supporting information.

12)  The Reference page should be a separate page (heading of References IS NOT in bold but it should be centered) and should follow the Summary and contain all references used within the paper. Format the references correctly – see the APA manual (Chapters 6 & 7). References should contain all identifying information (author(s), year, article title, journal title, volume, issue, page #s). Do not give a long web link or retrieved from, but do include the doi if there is one.

 Further Instructions/Guidelines

 

Failure to follow instructions will result in major penalties.

13)  The body of the paper follows the title page and should be a minimum of 5-6 pages in length (not to include title page & Reference page). However, if you go over 6 pages, you will not be penalized. It is better to be thorough. The paper should contain: the title page, the body of the paper with correct headings as given in these instructions (centered & bold) containing the information from these instructions and the rubric. Reference page follows the body of the paper and must be on a separate page. Use these instructions to write and correctly format the paper.

14)  Everything is double-spaced, including the Reference page. Be sure when formatting, go to the Paragraph section of Word and click on the arrow in the lower right corner. On the indents and spacing tab, check the box “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style”. This keeps the spacing consistent through the paper.

15)  Times New Roman size 12 font for all parts of the paper, including the running head and page numbers.

16)  One inch (1”) margins. No borders.

17)  Use the tools (documents) given in the course to assist in writing this paper. You can also seek assistance from the Troy Writing center. You can also go to the Course Tools tab in Canvas and scroll down to the NetTutor link and obtain online assistance.

18)  All information in the paper must be cited in correct APA format. If in doubt, cite everything. If the information in a sentence came from the source, IT MUST BE CITED. Do this, even if it seems redundant.

19)  The paper should be written in a scholarly form (use the BSN Guide for Scholarly Papers, & the APA manual).

1. DO NOT WRITE IN 1^st, 2^nd, or 3rd PERSON (I, me we, he, she, it, this, they, them, their, etc.) anywhere in the paper. DO NOT GIVE NAMES OF PEOPLE OR FACILTIES.
2. DO NOT start sentences with this, that, there, or it. Each sentence should stand alone and form a complete thought. Write in an objective manner and NOT a conversational manner or in a question form.
3. A paragraph contains at least three (3) sentences. Most likely, the information and writing will require more than 3 sentences. If the information in a sentence came from the sources/references, CITE the source, even if this seems redundant.
4. NO QUOTES are to be used in this paper.
5. Paraphrase the information obtained from published sources in your own words. Just do not change a few words from a sentence from sources- this is NOT paraphrasing but is plagiarism. The Thesaurus can be helpful.
6. Don’t copy and paste information directly from the source as this is plagiarism.
7. Correct citations are needed for all information. See the APA manual Chapter 8. Multiple authors are cited and referenced using the table on page 266 of the APA manual (7^th ed.).
8. Cite correct references for journal articles in the paper. If a chapter from the text is used for citation, must cite the chapter (by author) correctly. If multiple chapters are used, must be cited and referenced separately. If same author wrote multiple chapters, these citations and references must be distinguished by small letters in the paper and in the reference list in the body of the paper and the reference page. See the instructions in the APA Notes.

20)  Submit the paper through the link in the Module for the Turnitin Assignment in Canvas The link in the Module is already linked to Turnitin. Do not go to turnitin.com as the paper will not appear as a submission in Canvas and the gradebook for the course and cannot be graded. Turnitin is an anti-plagiarism site and will show similarities and whether the paper contains information taken directly from published sources. Major penalties will be deducted for the entire paper for similarities from any sources. Review the Plagiarism Policy.