[colleague]

Hello, I recently took a job as charge nurse in a small 10 bed telemetry unit. As charge, I take 2 patients and 2 other nurses take 4 patients each. We have a unit secretary and a pct on the floor most times.

I would like to talk with other charge nurses who have to take patients. Can you give me some help on how to manage your day? I am finding I spend more time on the floor with other nurses' patients than taking care of my own and I am not doing the charge "paperwork" responsibilities well. Any help you could give would be appreciated.

Colleague

[Mommy TeleRN]

I'm curious what types of patients/drips you all do? I work telemetry on a unit 4x the size... we are taking 7 pt most shifts and here lately the charge nurse is having to take a near full load too. We have 2-4 PCAs depending on the shift.

[colleague]

Originally Posted by Mommy TeleRN

I'm curious what types of patients/drips you all do? I work telemetry on a unit 4x the size... we are taking 7 pt most shifts and here lately the charge nurse is having to take a near full load too. We have 2-4 PCAs depending on the shift.

Thanks for responding! I work on a floor which only has 10 beds due to size limitations. I realize this is a small unit and may not be "norm;" hence, the reason for my posting. The drips I am talking about are Cardizem, Insulin, and Nitroglycerin. We can take these as long as we are not "titrating up." These all have to be closely monitored and require frequent interventions. I honestly don't know how I could take more than 2 patients. Since I am new in this unit and have never taken patients as Charge (usually on a 24-28 bed unit) before, I would like to know how other units organize their units. Are all your 7 patients monitored with comorbidites. Do you take post-cath patients? I'd love to hear some of your experiences. Colleague

[Mommy TeleRN]

We also have drips without titration (except Heparin which of course goes by protocol) Yes to comorbities. No to post caths..but there is another tele floor that gets the majority of the post caths..we get them occasionally but only if the sheaths are pulled. We use to do post cabg but they are on a special unit now where the ratio is 4:1.

We also do our own VS but have CNAs usually for personal care.

[colleague]

Originally Posted by Mommy TeleRN

We also have drips without titration (except Heparin which of course goes by protocol) Yes to comorbities. No to post caths..but there is another tele floor that gets the majority of the post caths..we get them occasionally but only if the sheaths are pulled. We use to do post cabg but they are on a special unit now where the ratio is 4:1.

We also do our own VS but have CNAs usually for personal care.

Interesting! I see you are a fairly new nurse. Is this the only unit you've worked in? What kind of charting are you required to do and what type of charting -- paper or computer? Do you all take turns as charge or do you have a designated charge? Can I ask what state you are in? colleage