If you would like to share your expertise in The Business of Caring, we would be happy to talk with you. The Business of Caring is always on the look out for feature articles, case studies, charts/graphs, and tools that help nurse executives and managers navigate the business side of health care.
We are especially interested in articles written by experienced nurse leaders that provide specific and helpful advice on practical business and finance issues that nurse executives and managers are wrestling with in today’s hospitals and health systems.
Queries
Authors should send a one- or two-paragraph summary of their proposed article idea to editor Maggie Van Dyke (mvandyke@hfma.org).
Audience
Articles published in The Business of Caring are primarily directed toward nurse executives and nurse managers in hospitals and health systems. Other audiences include clinical leaders and directors, and finance executives and managers who work closely with clinicians.
Topics covered
Topics of interest include—but are not limited to—the following:
- Staffing/scheduling of nurses and other front-line workers
- Budgeting
- Recruiting and retaining nurse talent
- Supply chain management
- Facility design and planning
- Clinical improvements that positively affect business outcomes
We also publish a few special issues each year devoted to one specific topic, such as supply chain management, efficient nurse scheduling, and budgeting.
Please note: The Business of Caring has several regular sections. We frequently publish contributed articles in the following sections. As you think about your article idea, please think about how the idea might fit into one of these sections:
- Business School for Nurses. A story in charts that educates nurses on core healthcare business concepts, such as determining ROI.
- Talk the Talk. Talking points on hot business topics that are of interest to nurse executives, such as pricing transparency or RFID.
- How We Did It. Case studies that help “solve” a specific business issue/problem. For example, how did you solve your biggest scheduling headache?
- Business Software Tip. Practical tips for navigating and using popular business software.
- Business Tool Exchange. Real-life, practical business tools and scripts that nurse executives can adapt for their own use.
Writing Tips
A conversational, newsy tone is best. Give examples or stories that help get your points across, especially complicated points. Examples are especially important in any type of how-to article or description. Whenever possible, please provide data that shows actual dollars saved, return on investment, RN turnover rates, percentage of improvement in clinical indicators, etc. Provide charts or graphs, whenever possible, with your article.
All of the articles in The Business of Caring are short—between 500 and 1,200 words. Given the word count, you may need to focus on a specific aspect of a topic.
Editing
Articles are edited for content, style, and length. Authors review edited manuscripts before publication.
Commercialism
The Business of Caring does not promote or profile any commercial service, product, or organization in its editorial content. HFMA cannot directly promote any one company or product. So, please do not mention the name of any company, consultant, or organization within the title or body of the article. Also, please do not include the name of any product that your company sells or promotes. When a product or company needs to be referred to, describe it in general terms so that the reader gets a sense of what you mean. For instance, you might say “a consulting company that specializes in supply chain management” or a “staffing/scheduling software.”
Author Compensation
The Business of Caring does not pay authors for providing manuscripts. Authors receive three complimentary copies of the issue in which their articles appear. HFMA members receive two points toward earning the HFMA Founders Merit Award.
Copyright
The Business of Caring follows a policy of exclusive publication. Articles published elsewhere are not accepted. HFMA assumes sole copyright of any article published in The Business of Caring. Permission of the publisher is required before an article can be copied or reproduced. Requests for reprints of an article or for permission to reprint an article in another publication should be directed to Dorothy Karmowski at (800) 252-HFMA, ext. 387; dkarmowski@hfma.org.