[Fiesta Red]

I have been an ER nurse for about 5 years now, and have been doing charge RN duties for about 2 to 3 years. We don't have a designated charge RN position on our unit -- we take turns. Any experienced staff nurse who has been trained to do it can be "it" for the day for an extra $1.25 per hour. I used to enjoy doing it, but lately I just seem to hate it. Our nurse manager even said it is the worst job on the unit. How many of you here do charge duties? Do you rotate it, or is there someone who is hired to do it exclusively? Has anyone here done it for awhile then said "no mas"?

Thanks!
-Mark

[lost in boston]

Originally Posted by Fiesta Red

I have been an ER nurse for about 5 years now, and have been doing charge RN duties for about 2 to 3 years. We don't have a designated charge RN position on our unit -- we take turns. Any experienced staff nurse who has been trained to do it can be "it" for the day for an extra $1.25 per hour. I used to enjoy doing it, but lately I just seem to hate it. Our nurse manager even said it is the worst job on the unit. How many of you here do charge duties? Do you rotate it, or is there someone who is hired to do it exclusively? Has anyone here done it for awhile then said "no mas"?

Thanks!
-Mark

For only a buck twenty five?????? NO WAY...........It is the worst and the most important job as is triage but a buck twenty five?? NO WAY

[erdiane]

I am jealous. I'vebeen a nurse for 15 years. and i get paid 75 cents an hour for charge.

oh yeah and I am also either triage or take full assignment of patients.

somedays I feel like my head is spinning 360 degrees for 12 hours in a row.
ick.

[swartzrn]

I work in the DoD system and a couple of years ago we got a "promotion" to a higher GS level which included every RN who was that level had to do charge duties. Before that though there were a few of us who always did charge. Some of our nurse's had no interest in doing charge whatsoever and went to other units. Now we basically all take turns.

[widi96]

Wow. You all have it good. Our hospital doesn't pay the charges any differential. (And the younger nurses fight for who gets to do it)

[loricatus]

If one of the assistant managers isn't on, then charge is rotated among staff with no extra pay. Personally, I think there is one other position worse than being charge-TRIAGE!!!

[jojotoo]

We have specific, designated charge nurses. We don't normally take an assignment, but serve as a resource person, an extra pair of hands, and a facilitator - getting patients admitted to the floor, transferred to another hospital, arranging for special supplies. We also do evaluations for the other staff. And of course we handle patient complaints.

[rjflyn]

The ED is to busy a place not to have a charge nurse unless it is a unusually small for one. I have enough on my plate caring for the patients to not have to deal with the BS as well. I mean we admit people who should go home, send people home who should be admitted, care for way more pts than we probably should in most cases. There has to be someone there to cover my be back and for that i am thankful for

Rj

[oljoern]

I had been a nurse for 2 yrs when I started charge and ended up doing it for 6 yrs on 11p-7a shift. I only got an extra 25 cents/hr then, but it's been a few years ago. It actually is the second worst job in the ED, the first being a tie between triage nurse and unit clerk. I had to be able to do the UC duties as well because there was no relief for the UC on nights, and I had to carry a full pt load. It was oodles of stress being in charge and I've only willingly done it since then when I've known that the other alternative person would have been a bloody disaster.
Fortunately, when I was full time charge, I enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the ED director and always got the top of the line newbies and got to break them in the way I thought was best. I had some of the best night crews I've ever seen and we could handle whatever came at us. I really enjoyed working with those kids.
The last time I voluntarily did charge was at a very dysfunctional facility that shall remain nameless but was in the throws of playing to satisfaction surveys. I had to deal with idiotic complaints and surveys that we didn't get "all fives" on and I left that place. Doing charge in that place was like chasing a pyromaniac on meth and trying to put out the fires with a glass of water. Then they added a heavy layer of BS on top. Not worth it at all.

Joe

[jojotoo]

Originally Posted by oljoern

Doing charge in that place was like chasing a pyromaniac on meth and trying to put out the fires with a glass of water. Joe

So true!