Charge nurse

[proud nurse]

What does it mean to be charge nurse at your job? At my hospital, it means you make out the RN and PCA schedule for the next shift and get paid an extra dollar an hour. I feel like charge nurse should entail more, but that's about it.

[ComeTogether, LPN]

Where I work the charge nurse doesn't take patients and is the go-to nurse for any issues that may come up. She will make a list of issues needing the Doctors attention, but not emergent ones and keeps in touch with him throughout the shift. She also does all of the orders for all of the admissions and has to know the basics of every patient on the unit. Also, she will help the other nurses with whatever they're behind on.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

In LTC, a nurse is often the "charge nurse" simply by virtue of being the only nurse in the building/unit. Anyone with a license is the charge nurse on evening and night shifts.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

When I still worked on PCU I charged a lot. Things I was responsible for:

* Making assignments for both my staff and the on-coming shift.

* Assigned beds and determined who would get the next admission.

* Check the crash carts.

* Help with admissions and discharges

* Respond to code blues throughout the hospital

* Served as a resource person on the unit

* Put out any "fires" that happen on the unit. You know, damage control.

I had a full load of patients like everyone else and we were paid an extra $1 an hour. Honestly, though, that extra $1 wasn't always worth it.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

Actually, we need hazard pay lol

[Do-over, ASN, RN]

I will continue to dodge that bullet - certainly won't do it willingly for the measly $1 per hour. At least, where I am now, charge doesn't take an assignment.

[bamaguy1989]

I have only been a nurse 9 months and they already have me filling in as charge. I work at night and we take a full team just like the other nurses. We make the assignments for our shift and the next night, check the crash cart, check med room humidity/temp, assign admits when house supervisor calls for a bed, and try to help out the other nurses when we can. And since we have no secretary on nights we sit at the front of the nurses station and answer the call light and phone. We do get paid an extra $1.50/hour

[kcochrane]

As a charge nurse in the hospital I was repsponsible for everything that happened on the unit. In addition I had patients, although I would have a few less patients. By the end of the shift I in most cases would have the same paitent load as I took admits so as not to slam the other nurses.

Some of the tasks:

Resource person

Assigning new admits

Adjusting night assignment and making out the day assignment

Taking call outs

Taking care of staff issues, pt behavioral issues, family issues

Checking the crash carts

Taking inventory on central lines

And I did not get paid any extra for that. Probably less than most of those that were there longer and were smart enough to refuse to be charge.