Exercises: 7.2 and 7.6





Exercises: 7.2 and 7.6

The following exercises are required and cover topics in this week's required reading. Review the instructions carefully before completing and submitting the exercises.


Complete Exercises 7.2 and 7.6 on pages 183 and 185 in Quantitative Methods in Health Care Management. Use the Excel document below to record your answers. Save the template to your desktop before using.
Excel template for Exercises 7.2 and 7.6

Exercise 7.2: Utilize the information from exercise 6.2, where pre-and post-examination processing of patients in an outpatient clinic involves various tasks performed by clerks and nurses.
a. Excluding the wait times by patients, recalculate the standard time.

b. If there were an average of 1,800 patient visits to the outpatient clinic, what would be the standard hours per month?

c. If the target utilization rate of the facility is 80 percent; the indirect support time per visit is 0.10 hour, and the total administrative time by all staff in a given day is five hours, what is the target FTE level for the clinic?

d. If fringe benefits account for 9 percent of the target FTEs, what are the required FTEs?


For 7.6 c, Use the following:
Calculation of "Coverage Factor" for 10/40 plan
Required coverege day per year 365
Weekend day per year 156
Holidays 10
Sick day 6
Vacation day 15


Exercise 7.6:
Table Ex. 7.6 depicts the average RN minutes needed on a daily basis in various units.

TABLE EX. 7.6
ICU CCU SURG MED PED OB/GYN
7,000 8,000 8,500 9,000 7,500 6,500
a. Assuming an 85 percent utilization level and that everything else is constant, how many RN FTEs should be hired to satisfy the patient care demand in each unit?

b. The FTEs hired for SURG, MED, PED, and OB/GYN are scheduled for eight-hour shifts on 5/40 plan, and they will get ten holidays, six sick days, and fifteen paid vacation days per year. How does this information affect your FTEs?


c. The FTEs hired for the ICU and CCU are to be scheduled for ten-hour shifts on a 4/40 plan, and ICU and CCU nurses get the same benefits as do other unit nurses. How does this information affect your FTEs?