Thoughts on being required to do charge on level 3 NICU after being there for a year and a half? *That is without previous NICU experience. Management states all new staff is required to do charge (I wasn't made aware of this during my interview). Does this happen elsewhere?
In my head, I always thought of doing charge when you feel very confident and competent. And a personal decision, being that personality weighs in heavy on it.
Just because you have to orient to charge doesn't mean you will be in charge often. When I was NICU in a level 4, I was oriented to charge, which was no small thing in a 60 bed unit. Thankfully, they used me more as a back up charge for shifts where there were no clinical coordinators on staff (they tried to make CC's do charge as much as possible).
Charge didn't do all deliveries either...there were trained baby nurses that mother/baby staffed and they did all regular deliveries. NICU just did high risk deliveries and all c-sections.
One unit I worked at had charge and a separate delivery nurse that only had a half assignment. But that hospital was huge and there were always a ton of deliveries for that nurse to attend. No way charge could have done it and gotten anything done.
Now, at my current job (not NICU), I was oriented to charge during my starting orientation period. I've done charge since coming off of orientation.
Not exactly. Outside of assignments and checking equipment charge also goes to deliveries. All deliveries. That means charge goes to delivery, usually with RT, and if it's high risk then they take another RN with them. You are signed off on deliveries after attending 3 of them. You are then considered "core" staff and can/will train to charge.
Voice of dissent here: I've always worked in NICU, and that would freak me out, too! In many NICUs, being in charge means attending deliveries and taking a prominent role in codes. It's hard to feel truly proficient in neonatal resuscitation after only a year, especially if you don't attend deliveries or take high acuity patients all of the time. 97% of the time it's just staffing and simple deliveries, but 3% of the time it's abrupted PPHN train wrecks and 23-weekers on pressors.
Even though it's common on adult floors (especially med-surg), it's pretty atypical for NICUs because our turnover is generally lower than most units. Where I work, you don't train to attend deliveries until at least 2 years of experience, back-up charge at 3 years, and charge at 5 years. All of our permanent charges have been NICU nurses for at least a decade; the average length of experience for a permanent charge is about 20-25 years (most are in their 40s and 50s, with several in their 60s).
You probably would have received a very different answer if you'd posted this question in the NICU forum. I sincerely hope you have a good network of other charge-trained, experienced nurses around you who will be willing to help you out if you get into a difficult situation (and some excellent RTs alongside you in the delivery room).
It really depends on where you work. When I was charge of a PICU and also an ICU, that meant you were the go-to person. The charge was expected to have experience and a knowledge base to assist with procedures, handle problems, help new nurses, etc., far more than simply making assignments. You were the decision maker.
On my unit, I've seen new nurses with 6 months of experience become charge nurses, including one of my fellow resident nurses! I know my time is near (honestly surprised it hasn't happened sooner), especially since a few usual charge nurses are going on maternity leave. I am truthfully not ready, but I'll try my best.
charge nurse means being the boss, the leader of a group. After a 1.5 years? I can see 5 years, but you must have impressed boss man to be made boss lady! Becareful how you use your authority. Plus an increase in pay is nice..but mind those taxes.
charge nurse means being the boss, the leader of a group.
Not always. How the Charge Nurse role is defined depends on the individual setting. Many years ago, when I was a new grad ... I worked in a NICU (Level III, which was the highest level back then) ... and started to be oriented to charge after 6 months. It didn't mean I was the boss of the more experienced nurses working that shift, it just meant it was my responsibility to do certain tasks that were expected of the Charge Nurse. There were always more experienced working with me and I knew that if emergencies occurred that were beyond my skill level, those senior staff nurses would step up and take charge of the situation.
It was a good system. Young nurses (like me) were given a chance to develop organizational skills and get introduced to a few leadership tasks -- all the while being "backed up" by more experienced nurses who were mentoring us and helping us as needed. By the time the young nurses got a couple of years of such experience, we were really ready for leadership roles.
It was great experience for me. Those senior nurses discovered that I had a talent for being in Charge. I had strong organizational skills and could prioritize the unit's workload better than several of the more experienced people. I earned their respect at a very young age by showing them I was a good Charge Nurse even though I was still developing my direct patient care skills. By the time I had been there 1 year, I was put in the Charge role about 50% of the shifts I worked -- because I was good at organizing the unit's work and the unit ran smoothly while I was in Charge. But I was nobody's "boss" and was under no illusions that I was the best nurse on duty that shift. I was simply the designated organizer.
Eris Discordia BSN, RN
277 Posts
Just because you have to orient to charge doesn't mean you will be in charge often. When I was NICU in a level 4, I was oriented to charge, which was no small thing in a 60 bed unit. Thankfully, they used me more as a back up charge for shifts where there were no clinical coordinators on staff (they tried to make CC's do charge as much as possible).
Charge didn't do all deliveries either...there were trained baby nurses that mother/baby staffed and they did all regular deliveries. NICU just did high risk deliveries and all c-sections.
One unit I worked at had charge and a separate delivery nurse that only had a half assignment. But that hospital was huge and there were always a ton of deliveries for that nurse to attend. No way charge could have done it and gotten anything done.
Now, at my current job (not NICU), I was oriented to charge during my starting orientation period. I've done charge since coming off of orientation.