Charge nurses

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

For those of us who are charge nurses, are you always in charge or does your unit rotate between several different individuals? Do you ever feel like some days being in charge just isn't worth it? What makes you come back to that role?

I have definitely had days like that. I think for me it is because I like the challenge of being charge and it helps me develop my leadership skills. This just got me thinking today and I'm curious to know why others decided to charge or keep coming back to the charge nurse role even after a horrible shift.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

We used to rotate charge between all RNs on my ward. Soldiers had no choice in whether or not we were charge. We did our duty as it was assigned to us.

Civilians took charge when it was their turn out of principle. There was no differential pay for the extra duties or expertise associated with charge.

I think being in charge gave me a greater appreciation for the tough decisions that charge nurses make. I realized that when it felt like I was getting slammed, it probably wasn't intentional/personal and that everyone else was feeling the pain, too. It also made me care less about what people thought of me and pay more attention to my decision-making/leadership skills to ensure that the patients on my ward were safely cared for by my coworkers. I learned how to motivate people to get the job done even when none of us liked it.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Same charge person during the week, weekends rotate based on whose turn it is. I used to be in charge, but the differential to deal with all the extra responsibilities wasn't worth it, so I gave it up.

[lxpatterson]

I work in a rural hospital and the differential is on the order of a dollar or two, but nurses are forced to rotate as charge after 2 years of experience at the hospital. Obviously the level of responsibility is not commensurate with the pay or prestige and everyone hates doing it. But because everyone has to do it, we don't let anyone 'hang' in a pinch and can look like charge-by-committee.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

There is a small group of us who more or less rotate.

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

There is a small group of us who more or less rotate.

Same here.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

Nope, the same ones every day of the week unless someone goes on vacation, then one of the part timers will fill in. I'm a full time CN and I share with another FT CN for three other days. Two other people share the one day left.

I like the overview it offers of the floor and the decision making can be challenging at times. Some days it's worth the extra couple of bucks and other days I want to walk away. What I don't like is getting dumped on.

[Dazglue, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN]

All of our RNs rotate whether we want to or not. It's only 4 of us. We don't get paid extra or get any incentive besides a full patient load and a headache. Hate it.

[K+MgSO4, BSN]

I've got 5 FTE per FN of assistant nurse manager. They are expected to manage flow, admissions and discharging. Shift allocation etc. I have given them all portfolios so they days off the floor and I can do charge shifts and get out of the office.

[kungpoopanda]

There are a number of us who rotate, no extra money.

[Mandychelle79, ASN, RN]

All of the nurses can be charge. The clinical manager is in charge during the day unless on an admin day. Then someone else is assigned charge ( even if assigned can change before punching in). I usually take charge when I am 3-11 but only because I have the most senority ( if there is someone with more senority there I will defer to them, if they want charge they get it, usually they dont want it). On 11-7 there is usually only one RN scheduled so by default.

We get 1.00 per hour

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

Need advice:

The other night I was charge nurse along with a 5-patient district (med/tele unit). Often understaffed, charges are rarely just a charge. No clinicians or educators on duty. Four out of my five patients were overwhelmingly needy and med-heavy. It was more about completing tasks that night with absolutely no time to think about what is going on with the patients or on the floor as a whole or what they need. I did not like the fact that I could not round on my patients as I would have liked. I felt overwhelmed and unsupported. More than anything, I also felt unsafe. I am generally hard on myself and hold myself to a high standard (I feel in the past it has helped me succeed), which led me to go home the following morning feeling totally inept and discouraged. Did not get any validation from management in the morning whether or not I did a good job, but was quickly reminded at one point that I forgot to date and time a patient's bag of NS. I stayed after shift for an hour to finish charting, something I normally can manage on the clock. But our hospital requires pre-approval for certain overtime and I just didn't care to bother with the red tape, too exhausted also. $0 extra for being in charge BTW.

There really is no point complaining to management, this will get nowhere, they are historically unresponsive to such concerns and change is slow or nonexistent. Needless to say, we have a notoriously high turnover. I have personally resolved to move on within a certain timeframe and have many prospects in the works to assure that I transition somewhere according to that timeframe. In the meantime, I have to hang on until then. We are unionized, however, so wondering if I have any recourse with them with respect to my concerns. I generally feel that I am a good nurse and generally regarded as such, but I don't feel I was in a good position the other night. Am I wrong in how I feel?

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