Charge Nurses

orangepink, NP · Sep 23, 2009

we still have charge nurses here in vegas

rnpjop · Sep 29, 2009

We have charge nurses, as well. They usually man the desk and take a lighter load of patients. They sign off on MD orders and deal w/ the staffing office, etc.

moodwaffle · Sep 29, 2009

We have a "Core Coordinator" (CC), which is the same thing as a charge nurse so I'm told. Our med-surg/onc floor is usually staffed 5/4 (34 beds). On weekdays 7 to 3, we staff a core-coordinator, who does not take patients.

The CC primary roles: floor audits (restraint compliance if we have them, and DOH, infection control monitoring), staffing, codes/rapid responses, assisting swamped nurses, ensure nurses get breaks, facilitating discharges, and chemo checks.

Secondary roles: admits (we usually have a house admit nurse), doing interventions for nurses (NG tubs, catheters etc), passing meds, taking a patient, answering overtime call lights, assist in discharge planning with the social workers.

I CC 3 days a week and stay pretty busy. Our floor went to having a CC after coordinators such as myself said we couldn't take 5-6 patients AND coordinate a 34 bed unit.

diane227, LPN, RN · Sep 30, 2009

I am the charge nurse on a 34 bed med surg floor. Our staffing for our nurses is 4:1 or 5:1 plus our CNA's and a unit secretary. We are a very busy floor. I am responsible for reviewing orders, updating MAR's, signing off orders, notifying nurses of new orders, calling doctors for problems/ order clarifications, rounding on all patients, helping staff with needs such as starting IV's, placing foley's, etc, doing staffing for the oncoming shift, making the assignments for any incoming patients, keeping up with lab/ x-ray results and calling the MD if required. Our charge nurses do not take a patient assignment.

crystalcnd · Oct 12, 2009

We have charge nurses on our unit. They do not take patients themselves but assist the nurses in their patient care. The charge nurse handles all new admits/databases, etc., discharges, transfers, witnessing meds/wastes, starting IV's, assisting in foley cath placement, and basically helping the nurses if they need help.

diane227, LPN, RN · Oct 23, 2009

If you don't have charge nurses on your units who signs off orders and enters orders for you?

RNmb · Oct 29, 2009

I am a charge nurse which on my floor means bedding patients and assisting in any way needed on the floor. We have unit clerks that enter orders for us and the RN assigned to that patient is responsible for signing them off. We also do 12 hour chart checks to ensure all orders are entered and carried out correctly. In Feb. our physicians will be entering in their own orders. Should be interesting.

MedSurgeMess · Oct 30, 2009

If you don't have charge nurses on your units who signs off orders and enters orders for you?

I sign off my own orders after the unit secretary has entered them. On occasion, if the unit sec has called off for the day, we enter our own orders.

Caffeine_IV · Nov 2, 2009

I'm a night shift charge nurse. I take a full load of patients, assign beds, make assignment for next shift, help when I can and troubleshoot.

BlessedRoseRN · Nov 5, 2009

I wish our charge nurses did all these things ya'll speak of. Our's just usually sit at the desk, check labs, make bed assignments, they only do admissions if an LVN is getting an admission (since they are not allowed to do admissions) and only help if the Nurse Manager is around. They are suppose to be the last ones out the door after shift change but I've been there plenty of times and they were gone and didn't bother to help.

tigereyespeters · Dec 7, 2009

Wow, this post is really helping me to be super grateful for the wonderful charge nurses that I work with! Most of the time, our charge nurses take patients. Can be anywhere between 3 to 5. We, as staff nurses, take 5 or 6. All of our nurses come through on the computer-- no need to write orders anymore. Charge RNs round on all of the patients on the floor each 8 hour shift. They do discharge calls to patients who have been discharged to home within the last few days. They are there to help with checking blood or starting IV's if we have failed after 2 sticks. Our Charge RNs are there to help answer questions and to help with any "sticky" situation. There have been plenty of times, I'm afraid to say, that I have had to ask my Charge to step in after a resident refused to acknowledge patient concern.

As staff RNs, we are expected to complete hourly rounding, I&O's, meds, initial shift assessments, specified assessments, discharge calls, wound care, etc.

After only 5 months or so post-orientation, it is easy to become overwhelmed with all of the charting-- especially charting postpain medication administration within 30 minutes of IV administration when the order is read and given at Q2h. Between hourly charting and this post med charting, feels like I can either fully focus on charting or I can focus on patient care. And when you have a colostomy bag explode or a patient in distress, it is easy to get overwhelmed and behind.

I have appreciated so many of your posts regarding new RNs and the difficulty of the first year. I have a lot of conflict about it.

BUt the one thing that I do not have any issues with is how fortunate I feel to have great Charge RNs that will answer any question, be our advocate, and bend over backwards to help our patients.

For those of you that take this leadership role- you have my gratitude and my respect. I am so thankful to have you in my corner and so are my patients.