Charge Nurses

I work in a 12 bed ICU/PCU. Our charge nurse staffs like regular nurse, but she makes decisions regarding admission placements etc. She gets on day every 2 weeks to do her PI, schedules, etc(if census is not high and if she does not have to help with staffing). Usually our charge nurse is staffing that day, due to call offs, admissions etc.

As to who fills this role, the most experienced nurse is the best person to be the charge person.

Do you use Charge Nurses on your unit? If so, what are their responsibilities? Do they carry patients as well? Who fills this role?

Acute Med/Surg Telemetry floor. We have 42 beds. When I'm in charge I stay very busy taking off orders, answering the phone, answering the call lights, assigning new admits, dealing with doctors, pt complainants, staff complaints, writing orders for pts going to inpatient facilities, checking crash cart, accuchecks, and doing the telemetry strips. I would not have time to take on a patient. I know other charge nurses do in other hospitals but I don't know what their job descriptions include? I would rather do patient care. I work 2-3 days a week and do charge at least 1 day per week.

Do you use Charge Nurses on your unit? If so, what are their responsibilities? Do they carry patients as well? Who fills this role?

Yes we have 1 charge nurse for an 18 and soon to be 26 bed ICU. They are responsible for the schedule, staffing, policies, annual reviews, and daily maintainence of the unit (flow, baby, flow). They do not have patients unless we are short staffed and cannot find agency help. They are there to help out with new admits, as we recover all ICU straight from OR and bypass PACU. They help out in procedures, patients crashing, they are also the code responders in house. They charge nurses are selected by the manager and usually have 1-2 years experience in our unit to learn the ropes, flow, physicians, system, etc.

Hey. I am the Charge Nurse in a busy 10 bed CCU. I have been doing this for a few years now and I always take a pt load, although sometimes this becomes a problem because i can not adequately keep track of my patients and the other 8 in the unit, especially if there is a pooled nurse on the unit. But, according to our manager we are just gonna have to "suck it up" indefinitely. I get worried sometimes about mistakes being made by others that I can't fix or don't know about and they come to surface at a later time. If I am going to be the "Charge" Nurse, then I feel like I need to be involved and know everything that is going on. I mean, I can't even keep track of when my nursing staff is calling MD's and for what. So, at the end of the shift when i am giving report, there are some things that i haven't heard about and I look misinformed and not in the loop with my patients on the unit and my staff. For $1.25 extra per hour, it has been a rough ride, but great experience. Not only do I get to deal with my CVVHD and Swan, but I get to go two doors down and play with a Balloon pump and fix a Continuous Cardiac Output monitor. My shifts are mostly pretty busy lately, but I am building on the time management skills and responsibilities for Anesthesia School. Regardless of everything that I do, my patient care comes first before anything else. After all, that is what I am there for and they deserve my undivided attention. Hope all is well where you are!!!! Keep on keepin' on!

Hey. I am the Charge Nurse in a busy 10 bed CCU. I have been doing this for a few years now and I always take a pt load, although sometimes this becomes a problem because i can not adequately keep track of my patients and the other 8 in the unit, especially if there is a pooled nurse on the unit. But, according to our manager we are just gonna have to "suck it up" indefinitely. I get worried sometimes about mistakes being made by others that I can't fix or don't know about and they come to surface at a later time. If I am going to be the "Charge" Nurse, then I feel like I need to be involved and know everything that is going on. I mean, I can't even keep track of when my nursing staff is calling MD's and for what. So, at the end of the shift when i am giving report, there are some things that i haven't heard about and I look misinformed and not in the loop with my patients on the unit and my staff. For $1.25 extra per hour, it has been a rough ride, but great experience. Not only do I get to deal with my CVVHD and Swan, but I get to go two doors down and play with a Balloon pump and fix a Continuous Cardiac Output monitor. My shifts are mostly pretty busy lately, but I am building on the time management skills and responsibilities for Anesthesia School. Regardless of everything that I do, my patient care comes first before anything else. After all, that is what I am there for and they deserve my undivided attention. Hope all is well where you are!!!! Keep on keepin' on!

Gosh how do you manage all the duties and still care for your patients that is hard..........if you can give me any pointers would love them.........new graduate on an ICCU unit

Good luck with anesthesia school by the way

I work in a 27 bed ICU. All of our experienced RNs who have been working 4 or more years take a charge class. They rotate the responsibility..they can sign up for charge duty if they wish...which some prefer to doing patient care. Their primary responsibility is staffing and assignments..dealing with admits and discharge,assisting with patient care. They never taken a patient assignment, unless its a low acuity patient that is also cared for by a NT/NA II where he/she would be passing the meds and assuming responsibility for the assessment. They also cosign all LPN assessments, even though we pretty much mange our own patients...and there are rarlely more than 2 LPNs working per shift.

Hello!

I am a nurse in CCu for almost2 years now. About one year ago I came into work to quite a surprise "orient to charge" written where my assignment would normally be. It was a very big surprise! Especially cosidering there were plenty of others who had more senority then me.

Well, since, Ive been in charge often. The unit is 16 beds., and we get it all.... Everything other than traumas! I am responsible for all equiptment, transfers, admits, making the assignments, helping all the staff... and the left over mamagerial paper work that wasnt finish.... which in my opinion is Bull ****! There are a million other minute things we are also responsible for.

Let me just say this.... Stress isnt even the word. My manger will tell you your doing a good job, but the assist.... NOTHING! But he has no problem picking at the smallest this that was missed (example a clean flush left at a patients bedside by another RN) Oh, did i mention we are responsible for babysitting? Its getting ridiculous and im begining to build hate for him! :angryfire not good at all....... anyone have advice? (haha my posttuned into alittle vent session hehehe) Thanks guys!!

I know exactly how you feel littlenurse03--I'm a charge nurse in a 12 bed CVICU and usually have to take patients as well as charge duties. In fact, sometimes I'm charge and also taking the emergency fresh heart!! It can be very stressful at times but I do love my job and I enjoy the people I work with very much. I told my supervisor that I will not do charge as much as she wants me to--I want to be a floor nurse half the time and that will relieve some of my stress. It is noones fault--it is just the old nursing shortage esp. in critical care. Take a break if you can - that was the way for me to handle the stress of charge.

I work in a 16 bed cardiac intensive care unit...our charge nurses take patients, though usually the more "stable" ones (the day shift typically can take a light load, ie one patient, than the night shift charge due to high turnover/admit ratios). Charge is responsible for placing admits, coordinating discharges, assigning patients/staff, communicating with staffing for the next day's staff, observing other staff/answering questions, etc...our staff works well as a team though, so on nights, being charge usually isn't too stressful-except when we are short (which has been a lot lately!!)

Thank you clarkheart!! we have a shortage of charge Rns, (many people are leaving the unit) so the manager will be training more people for charge, I am VERY happy about that! :rotfl: You are right, I LOVE :loveya: my job, but need a little break! thanks for your help! :yelclap:

I was the Charge Nurse for our CCU for several years, but quit that position about 1 year ago to go back into staffing full time. ( I wanted to have a life outside the hosp.) They did not fill my position. However, one nurse is assigned as a shift coordinator (or dot head as we call them). They are responsible for making sure the code carts get checked, narcotics get counted and for making patient assignments for the oncoming shift. Yes, they do have patients to take care of also. Hope this helps.

Do you use Charge Nurses on your unit? If so, what are their responsibilities? Do they carry patients as well? Who fills this role?