Document Type

DNP Project

Department

School of Nursing

Date of Degree

Spring 2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Primary Advisor

Joyce Knestrick, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN

Keywords

Nursing education, Healthcare finance, Organizational issues, Mixed methods

Abstract

Background: The healthcare ecosystem has evolved into a complex landscape, demanding a shift in nurse leaders' competencies. In this value-based environment, nurses must demonstrate astute business skills in healthcare. However, financial and business principles remain the most underdeveloped skills and competencies among nurse leaders, leading to significant practice gaps.

Research Methodology: Nurse leaders from a state advocacy association participated in a mixed-method format for a program development project with a pre-posttest design. Their involvement contributed to measuring and determining their knowledge acquisition and self- perceived competence with financial and business acumen. This was achieved through a financial knowledge assessment test and the AONL Nurse Leader Competency Self-Assessment Tool, which assessed self-perceived competence before and after participants attended a healthcare financial business education and mentoring program.

Objectives: The project aims to enhance knowledge acquisition and self-perceived competency in financial and business management through participation in an educational and mentoring program.

Results: Twenty-two nurse leaders with varying experience, n =22, completed the education and mentoring program. The financial knowledge assessment test results, with 22 nurse leaders completing the test, revealed an improvement in the aggregate mean score of 5.3 points and a statistically significant p-value of less than 0.001 on a Wilcoxon test. The AONL Nurse Leader Competency Assessment survey results, with 16 nurse leaders completing the survey, revealed an improvement in the aggregate mean score for Domain 5, Business Skills, by 0.47 and a statistically significant p-value of 0.001 from a dependent paired t-test.

Conclusion: Clinically and statistically significant improvements were noted in the nurse leaders' knowledge acquisition and self-perceived competency in finance and business skills after an educational and mentoring program on healthcare finance management. The project should be repeated with a larger sample size. The project implications for future education and mentoring on this topic are tremendous.

Open Access

1

Available for download on Wednesday, October 14, 2026

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