Charge Nurse Patient Ratios

plumrn, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2004

The charge nurse does not take pts where I work, but it is because we have a much higher number of LPNs than RNs than most places. The staff nurses take around 5-6 on days, and oddly enough, nights takes the same amount, sometimes 7.

allele, LPN · Dec 16, 2004

The charge nurse doesn't take any patients on my unit on any shift. Day staff RN's take 2-3 patients, evening RN's take 4, night's 5 (sometimes six, but rarely). Can't complain about staffing where I work. I think I can count on only one hand how many times charge has had to take a patient due to staff being maxed out, but they usually take a patient who's being discharged or going to O.R. or something, nothing too difficult. They have to be available to resource staff.....and they do. :)

ICUnowOHN · Dec 16, 2004

Wow, I guess I've been out of the house a loooong time. I was one of 3 RN's and 1-2 LPNs and 2-3 CNAs and we were a 32 bed cardiac tele/surgical stepdown. We all had 10-11 whether we were "Charge" or not. This was is a large regional med center. That's primarily why I started looking at other types of Nursing. We all had 2-3 fresh post open hearts, with central lines, drips, and CT's, and the rest were arrhythmias or stable er admit chest pains. Some were post cath lab, but we only took a few to clear out the lab for their early admits, and they were up and about, just waiting for discharge. I ran my butt off for 12 straight, and that was if none of my pts went down the tubes. I went to ICU primarily because it was much more "easy" for lack of a better term, to take 3 very ill pts on vents and such, than it was to try and keep up where I had been.