[kateRN]

It seems that on our floor they wait until a person has about one year of experience before the orient them to charge. I was oriented to charge nurse after about 14 months of working. It's kind of nice for a change of pace, and we do have support staff available at all times if we have any questions. I feel pretty comfortable so far, however, I haven't had any big catastrophes happen during my charge shift yet either! That could definately change my opinion...

[anoonan]

i work on a 30 bed telemetry unit in RI and have never been oriented to charge. I've been there for about 2 years and on a recent shift was the most senior nurse available with a couple of new grads and 8 admissions, it was a fun night. I guess being charge really depends on how comfortable you are with your knowledge and the knowledge of the supervisors arounf you. If I had not been comfortable with the nursing supervisor that was on for the hospital, I would never have agreed.It is true that that in most hospitals anyone can be charge as long as they have been oriented.