Head for business

No matter how you look at it, "the business of nursing remains patient care," writes Marjorie Beyers in her preface to The Business of Nursing, a recent book from American Hospital Publishing. Still, in the book with potential authors and reviewers, the idea of putting the word "business" in front of "nursing" raised a few eyebrows, says Beyers, executive director of the American Association of Nurse Executives. "In corporate thinking, any service of value has a price. Although certainly nurse executives agree that nursing care is a valued human science, there is lively debate about whether it should have a price." To that end, the book's six essays reflect the complexity of changes in health care, the effects on patients and their families, and the challenges facing nursing executives today. The chapter excerpted here--"Seizing Opportunities in the New Health Care Delivery System, " by consultant and former nursing executive Richard Brock--lays a foundation for changing both nursing practice and attitudes. Brock also offers advice for working with staff nurses to guide them through the changes ahead.