Head Nurse in staffing

suzanne4, RN · Dec 10, 2005

Head nurses normally take care of management items, not direct patient care, unless an emergecny arises.

Charge nurses may or may not take an assignment, depends on the size of the unit, and type of patients. You need a charge nurse that is available to you if an issue arises. Or should be available.

Director never takes patients, there are just too many other things that need to be dealt with on a daily basis to keep the unit running. They usually make rounds during the day, but there function is not to be at the bedisde taking care of patients but to run the unit. Entirely two different things.

lee1 · Dec 11, 2005

Head nurses normally take care of management items, not direct patient care, unless an emergecny arises.
Charge nurses may or may not take an assignment, depends on the size of the unit, and type of patients. You need a charge nurse that is available to you if an issue arises. Or should be available.
Director never takes patients, there are just too many other things that need to be dealt with on a daily basis to keep the unit running. They usually make rounds during the day, but there function is not to be at the bedisde taking care of patients but to run the unit. Entirely two different things.

Ahh, would be nice, but in my hospital the HN do take patients and that is the problem. Just wondering how many other hospitals regularly have their HNs in staffing.

suzanne4, RN · Dec 11, 2005

Who is responsible for all of the management issues then? Who is actually running the unit if the mananger is taking patients?

Is their a Director that does all of the management things?

How large of a hospital to do you work in? How many patients on your unit, and what type of unit?

kadokin, ASN, RN · Dec 11, 2005

Charge nurse has a pt load. And then some. Responsible for staffing and helping to handling crisis situations. We have done it this way since I started working in this psych dep't. We now have a charge nurse that demands more staff b/c of her load than we ever had before. Funny, when I work charge on weekends, I don't get xtra staff. Hmmm.

suzanne4, RN · Dec 11, 2005

But there is a difference between a charge nurse and a manager. A charge nurse has only the shift responsibility, but the manager has 24 hour responsibility.

lee1 · Dec 11, 2005

Who is responsible for all of the management issues then? Who is actually running the unit if the mananger is taking patients?
Is their a Director that does all of the management things?
How large of a hospital to do you work in? How many patients on your unit, and what type of unit?

Yes, there is a Director, some places the Director has more than 1 unit, but, they are trying to get away from that because then the Director does NOT really know just what is going on as they should, besides attending the ever ongoing meetings.

Hospital more than 600 beds, very hi acuity

Still would like to hear from more nurses as to what their norms are for this issue.

Needless to say with such hi acuity, and the charge nurse having patient, the HN having patients, just WHO is available for support????

suzanne4, RN · Dec 11, 2005

That is my point exactly. Who is actually running the unit if the manager is taking care of patients?

I have been a nurse for too many years to count, and I have never seen a manager taking patients, unless therre was some type of emergency going on. Such as several call-ins and no replacement, or a disaster in town, etc.

Wonder what your mananger's views are on this?

lee1 · Dec 12, 2005

That is my point exactly. Who is actually running the unit if the manager is taking care of patients?
I have been a nurse for too many years to count, and I have never seen a manager taking patients, unless therre was some type of emergency going on. Such as several call-ins and no replacement, or a disaster in town, etc.
Wonder what your mananger's views are on this?

It would be nice to know the manager's views but I think that they also are controlled by the CNO who is controlled by the CEO

suzanne4, RN · Dec 12, 2005

Have you ever asked? I would be curious about what they were told by thsoe that are above them.. From a business standpoint as well, doesn't make much sense to me. There needs to be someone in charge of the day to day operations, as well as the shift.