Budgeting Costs of Nursing in a Hospital

Article Abstract:

This paper examines issues in building decision support models for budgeting nursing workforce requirements in a hospital. We determine regular-time, overtime, and agency workforce levels for various skill classes in a budget cycle. We introduce a family of eight models ranging from a single-period, aggregate and deterministic model to a multiperiod, disaggregate and probabilistic model. In a single-period model, we ignore the time-varying nature of demand for nursing hours. Aggregation is done over the nurse skill class mix. For probabilistic models, we consider demand uncertainty. Using empirical data, we evaluate the effects of level of sophistication in model building and in information requirements on their relative performances. The results suggest that ignoring the time-varying nature of demand does not induce gross errors in budget estimates. However, ignoring demand uncertainty produces underestimates (about five to six percent) of budget needs - a consequence of a Mandansky (1960) inequality. It also induces added costs to the system due to implementing nonoptimal regular-time workforce levels. Finally, we find that a simple formula using a single-period demand estimate gives excellent approximations to the budget estimates obtainable from the more precise models. (Reprinted by Permission of Publisher.)

Linear programming, Nursing, Cost, Demand, Comparative Study, Health Care, Estimation, Hospital, Stochastic Model, Programming, Decision Models, Budgeting, Probability

---

Sequential Analysis of the Stay-Leave Decision: U.S. Air Force Officers

Article Abstract:

A model is developed that studies stay-leave decisions of Air Force officers. Factors considered in the model are promotion probabilities and timing, regular force integration probabilities and mandatory separation and retirement probabilities. A comparison of income and civilian income opportunities is also made. Numerical results are presented in several tables. Two dynamic programming models are discussed. One is risk-neutral and the other includes risk-aversion.

Management science, Algorithms, Retirement, Algorithm, Dynamic programming, Decision theory, Models, Military, Decision Making, Operations Research, Markov Process, Air Force

---

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Implicit Understandings in Channels of Distribution. An Analysis of Network Location Problems with Distance Constraints
• Abstracts: Maximising a function over a finite set of actions: technical note. Note on Optimal Ordering Quantity to Realize a Pre-Determined Level of Profit
• Abstracts: Product Update - Financial Systems Division Item Processing Update. Lane Interfinancial's Four-Bank Center Cuts Annual Item Processing Costs $500,000

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.