I have worked as a RN for several years at my current job on a med surg unit. I was asked to be in charge, but some things since happened and I do not feel support or backed up by nursing supervisor or my boss when it comes to certain issues. I let them know that I will not be in charge anymore. I just want to know if I can refuse being in charge without recourse?
It is too much responsibility and to my knowledge there is no policy stating a nurse must be in charge. I just don't want to loose my job.
Thanks to everyone who has responded thus far. I was originally asked by my Nurse Manager to be in charge, to take over for someone's 3-11 shift who left. I wanted to do it at first. She would leave a lot at 7pm but she had been there a lot longer than me and had time off saved up but I don't because I haven't been there as long as her. On the days she left at 7pm there was a nurse or 2 that would take over on the day she left at 7pm. Since I'm taking over her spot and staying till 11pm, not 7pm the other ladies would get upset because if we were overstaffed they were assigned to another floor or called off till 11pm. I received some mean looks and I could feel they resented me for it. Most of them had been there longer me. Come to find out my NM never told the nurses who make the schedule on the weekend I was going to take over the 3-11 position, so I would come to work and someone else on the weekend would be in charge but on certain days my name would be the charge. It became a mess because I was asked, but there was no consistency and I felt hated for it. One of the nurses who would normally came in at 7pm and would take over when the other nurse left at 7pm before I started the job was now in a sense under me until 11pm she couldn't stand it. She even refused a patient I assigned to her recently. I just cannot deal with it anymore. The supervisors really didn't back me up. I talked to my boss about it and emailed her about these situations. She said she would talk to the person about it, but I doubt anything will become of it. They can't afford to loose anymore RNs. I feel if my boss wanted me to take over that spot she should have been the one to tell others I was in charge and not throw me to the wolves so to speak. As a result, I just do not want to put myself in this situation any longer. It is not that I am not capable or experienced at all. It is the disorganization, politics, not feeling backed up and the sheer frustration of it all. Again, thank for all your feedback and all the ears.
I don't EVER want to charge. Luckily, I've only been on my job 4 1/2 months, so I won't have to deal with that for a while. Plus, we have an ANM who comes in from 11p - 7a, so she usually deals with a lot of the CN duties.
At our facility, the CN only gets 50 cents more an hour and has to deal with a WHOLE LOT more crap. Sure, you get fewer patients, but I have seen some of our CNs have to deal with some pretty tense family issues, etc. We do have one CN who is awesome, and I love it when he charges.
There is always a price to pay in nursing. The best nurse cannot always be the best employee and vice versa. If you refuse, even for valid reasons, there will be consequences to face. Maybe not immediately, maybe not as blatant as some posted here, but you may not get as good an evaluation, or a good raise, or a day off as requested, or the list can go on and on. Good luck to you, most nurses have been in your shoes and just have to suck it up at times, find another job, or transfer to another unit.
On my unit it is expected that all RN's will eventually be oriented to charge duties. This is made clear to all new hires. We do not expect new nurses do charge however. They must first go through the basic coronary class and be on the floor for at least one year before they can be considered for charge. We also rotate charge each week so no one is stuck doing it all the time. If you are senior staff, it is required to do charge. Non senior staff do get $1/hr extra for charge duties. Personally, I hate being in charge, I try to get out of it if I can. I'm senior staff though, so I find myself behind the desk more than I care to be. We do have some though, that only want to do charge and crap all day if they are on the floor. I say let them have it!
If they want you to be charge, TPTB need to make that clear to other staff and support you in whatever way needed to be able to be a good charge nurse. Most of the time I've been in nursing, the very experienced nurses were always charge. While some were awesome, others were on power trips and made select targeted floor staff miserable when they worked. I've had to be charge when I was the most experienced RN on the floor, but never had proper orientation, education or support in being charge on the 2 units where I've been charge.
Don't think your job is safe because they can't afford to lose any RN's, as you just might lose your job over refusing charge duties. Suggest you ask for proper education/support to do the charge assignment when you are the most appropriate RN to do it.
Specializes in Education, IV Therapy, Travel Medicine.
Your case provides a good example. I hope you don't mind if I use it.
If you don't feel comfortable being in charge ... it is best to clarify in writing that you are willing to be in charge and look forward to the professional growth the opportunity will provide. However, you feel you need a little more education and/or support to be successful in the role. etc. etc.
By documenting your willingness to learn, you make it harder for any extreme and/or unfair characterization of your reluctance. It may not prevent 100% of the negative repercussions, but it can help a little by making it impossible for people to say that you are not willing to do your fair share of the work and/or not interested in learning and growth.
I agree with the above nurse but, would add that I would go and talk to the Nursing Education Dept. about what is available to help prepare you. For example, a charge nurse workshop or Leadership course that discusses the resources and choices available to you. Secondly, review your state's Nurse Practice Act for direction in how to delegate and make asssigments that take into consideration the other person's knowledge, competency,etc.
Being in charge bites the big one. I took my current position about a year ago. It was not advertised as a charge position(in the OR, this means running the board) and when I interviewed and when I received the letter offering me the job, it was not mentioned either. I found out I'd be running the board on my shift after I'd been on orientation a few weeks.
Keep in mind, I had been a nurse for 1 year when this happened. I was new to this specialty(Ortho), so I'm still learning on that front. Also keep in mind that I am the only one out of the charge nurses in that OR that circulates a room. So, not only am I supposed to know what's going on "out there" I'm supposed to be giving my unconscious patient 100% of my attention. I already made up my mind that the patient is always going to win in my book..if that means I don't answer my phone right away, tough t*tti*s.
They must have been jumping for joy when they saw this sucker coming. I make what a nurse with 2 years experience makes, plus a whopping $1.25 an hour. This about covers my Zoloft prescription(funny, never needed Zoloft before this..) with some left over to pay for the Tums I now have to carry with me. Add to this the fact that there are certain people that were angry that someone took this position because these people like the overtime. Throw in the fact that the "rules" keep changing. One minute I'm told that I'm to keep rooms running at all costs, the next I'm supposed to shut rooms down because certain call people don't want to stay and they are major butt kissers so they're in good with the boss.
Obviously, my position is different than the OP's because even if they weren't honest with me, this is my job. But, I have pretty much made the decision once a regular RN position opens up in my specialty, I'm putting in for it. We're union so they can't just fire me because I don't want to do this job anymore. As long as I follow the proper channels and give the boss a chance to find some other poor soul to do this job, i think I'll be OK. And even if they want to get rid of me, so be it. I have recruiters calling me several times a week. I don't have kids yet, I don't own, I rent. Travel nursing, here I come! I always have a plan B and I land on my feet.
This was the point of my long post, BTW. Even if the OP faces repurcussions for refusing charge, IMO, it will still be worth it. You can always find another job. No one is going to look out for your health and sanity but you.
Shell5
200 Posts
Thanks to everyone who has responded thus far. I was originally asked by my Nurse Manager to be in charge, to take over for someone's 3-11 shift who left. I wanted to do it at first. She would leave a lot at 7pm but she had been there a lot longer than me and had time off saved up but I don't because I haven't been there as long as her. On the days she left at 7pm there was a nurse or 2 that would take over on the day she left at 7pm. Since I'm taking over her spot and staying till 11pm, not 7pm the other ladies would get upset because if we were overstaffed they were assigned to another floor or called off till 11pm. I received some mean looks and I could feel they resented me for it. Most of them had been there longer me. Come to find out my NM never told the nurses who make the schedule on the weekend I was going to take over the 3-11 position, so I would come to work and someone else on the weekend would be in charge but on certain days my name would be the charge. It became a mess because I was asked, but there was no consistency and I felt hated for it. One of the nurses who would normally came in at 7pm and would take over when the other nurse left at 7pm before I started the job was now in a sense under me until 11pm she couldn't stand it. She even refused a patient I assigned to her recently. I just cannot deal with it anymore. The supervisors really didn't back me up. I talked to my boss about it and emailed her about these situations. She said she would talk to the person about it, but I doubt anything will become of it. They can't afford to loose anymore RNs. I feel if my boss wanted me to take over that spot she should have been the one to tell others I was in charge and not throw me to the wolves so to speak. As a result, I just do not want to put myself in this situation any longer. It is not that I am not capable or experienced at all. It is the disorganization, politics, not feeling backed up and the sheer frustration of it all. Again, thank for all your feedback and all the ears.