Charge nurse duties for med/surg/tele floor

Our charge nurses do patient rounding, audit all isolation daily, making sure all protocol is in place, post beds for admissions, look over daily and day after staffing, sometimes helps to make calls, watch over tele and strips of our nurses not yet trained, act as a resource to all other nurses, attends morning bed rounds with all ancillary departments to discuss patients acuity availability of beds and staffing, they do our temperature and code cart checks, and they make nurse/patient assignments. on high census/low staffing days in order to keep boarders out of the er, they take up to 4 patients during dayshift but we really try not to let that happen, they also sign off orders.

We have a total oof 85 MS beds with 20 telemetry, 8 ortho and 14 oncology. Our nurse/pt ratio is 7:1. That is also the NA-pt ratio from 0700-2300. We run 1 CRN (Clinical Resource Nurse). He/She floats throughout, places patients, helps with adm/D/C/orders, helps count narcs, overrides meds, staffing for the next day, fights territory battles, and anything else needed. It is a stressful, irritating, aggravating, frustrating, challenging BLAST!!

Our ratio is 6 on days and evenings and 7 on nights. Charge nurses usually take a couple of pts and then they do assessments for the LVNs, help with discharges, IV starts, admissions, etc. They are also responsible for the temp checks, crash cart check and narc counts. They look at staffing for the next shift only and make assignments.

Our ratio is supposed to be 5:1...but usually is anywhere from 6-7 on days and 6-8 on nights.
The charge rn makes assignments, assigns duties for the aides, and checks that there is enough staff for nights---if not she makes calls. Then checks crash cart/O2 tanks, Flu/Pneu vaccine sheets are on MAR & complete, does callbabks, makes pt. rounds, places new pts., and surgeries and any direct admits. She also directs housekeeping to dirty rooms..assists staff with needs..updates communication board, and ensures whiteboard in pts. rooms are updated, sometimes she has an assignment, but that is usually if short-staffed, and then somehow nursing has the responsibliity of cleaning equipment, ie:IV pumps and poles, scd mach, sat machines, etc...
And, I forgot to mention assigning walkie-talkies...and picking the up at shift change. And god forbid there is a service issue.

On my step down/progressive care unit in California, the charge nurse did not take an assigment. She or He rounded, resolved issues (family concerns, etc), talked with staffing/admitting regarding unit staffing and census, and assisted RN's with things like IV's, medications, whatever was needed.

This was on a 25 bed unit. I always found the charge RN a good resource.

Here in Utah, the charge nurse has an assigment! However, the hospital I am now at does not have a staffing office, so they field calls from those that are sick, etc. I don't find them to be as helpful at all.