Charge nurses with regrets?

[Larry77, RN]

I have been doing charge on a relief basis for awhile and now have an opportunity to apply to a designated charge day shift position but I am worried that I will not like doing the desk all the time. Is there any charge nurses out there that regret making the change to do the desk full-time? I love patient care including trauma and codes but I work a lot of OT where hopefully I would still get my hands dirty.

I am worried I will make the change to make management happy then hate it and go back to the floor and they will see me as a "failure" or never consider me again. I've been trying to do a list of pro's and cons in my head but I am just not sure. My wife says I should just start the process of applying and can always change my mind later...

Seems like a bad day at the desk is much worse than a bad day on the floor...but a good day at the desk is better than a good day on the floor...*shrugs*

[4theBetterGetter, RN]

Bless your heart! I did charge pretty much under the same conditions....Did it for years and I hated it!!!!!!!!!!! I so missed bedside nursing and despised all the politics! Just do the best job you can and let your boss know you won't be sitting in the hot seat forever....

[Ahhphoey]

I may be a little out of place for responding because I've never really worked a permanent charge job. However, I did apply for one in the ICU where I currently work. My manager wanted me to work on the floor for six months as staff first because I was new to the organization and this would allow me to see how things worked there. Boy was I glad I accepted that staff position instead of pushing for entering right into the charge position. I like my co-workers, but to be honest many of them are very catty and gossip alot and really just don't respect whoever is in charge. They want to do what they want and that's all. In an emergency, these nurses are very bright and at your side at the drop of a dime, but there is just too much other stuff to deal with. Now, I usually despise being put in charge on that unit, but don't mind working there as staff. By the way, the charge usually carries a full load, though lighter, and is still responsible for all the charge paper work and duties on top of patient care. This is just my personal experience, but seeing as you already work on the unit where you would charge, your experience may differ greatly. Good luck either way.

[diane227, LPN, RN]

I have been a nurse for 30 years and the largest amount of my time has been spent in management. I got my first promotion to charge nurse 1 year after starting in the ED. That job however required very little paper work except for employee evaluations. Most of my time has been spent at the head nurse or director level of emergency departments across the country. Mostly county hospitals, the largest having been Ben Taub in Houston where I had all the emergency and pediatric services. I loved management but I finally decided to retire from it because I got tried of trying to fix problems and being in the position of having the buck stop at my desk.

I now have a charge nurse job on the 3-11 shift in a small county hospital outside of Seattle. They will have to carry me out of this job in a box, I love it so much. I get enough patient care and still get the opportunity to make decisions regarding my department. My manager is WONDERFUL and she takes my suggestions seriously. I LOVE the people I work with.

Management was some of my best years. Give it a try. Starting as charge will give you a taste of management and then you can decide if you like it or not. You will never know until you try. Good luck.

[Iam46yearsold]

I did charge for a long long time. Finally gave it up, now I feel so much better.

[JD228]

I work where I am primarily charge but also fill in when we have call outs. So I still have the hands on but also have all the other responsibilities of Charge. I think one of the biggest pains with that is everyone expects you to listen to them complain (justifiably or not and vent) but when you are in charge, you can't say anything. So I think when you are Charge all the time it is important to have a "safe" person to vent to when things get rough. For me the hardest part of being in Charge is watching what I say.

When I do have the rare chance of taking care of a zone with out being Charge, I feel like the weight of the World is off my shoulders......its kind of like a vacation.

Being in Charge all the time can be really taxing, good luck with your decision.

[JBudd, MSN]

When I did nothing but charge, because I was the only one qualified at the time, I started to get burned out on it. I like being charge, and miss it when I'm not scheduled to for a while. But, now I have the best of both, one night charge, next night bedside (ER) and I really like it. Good coworkers and alternate charge nurse helps a lot!

See if you can negotiate half charge, half bedside duties. Maybe someone else would like to do the same, you could job share it.