title: A critical competency: determining and communicating the number of nurses you must hire.
abstract: Nurse leaders must understand and articulate critical concepts of budgeting and staffing to provide credible leadership to our nursing organizations. Determining the ideal number of nurses to hire on any given unit is as much an art as it is a science. Understanding the relationship between hiring requirements and the budget can lead your nursing organization to achieve important results for your hospital.
authors.affiliation: Patient Care Services, St. Mary's Hospital, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Joan Ellis
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Beglinger
mesh_terms: D002017:Budgets; D006801:Humans; D009718:Nurse Administrators; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D040841:Resource Allocation; D014922:Wisconsin