Do acute hospitals have to have charge nurses?

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Does anyone know if there is a law, either federal or CA, that says hospitals must have charge nurses? My hospital is cutting back, and they are thinking of doing away with managers and/or charge nurses. Supposedly they will employ fewer charge nurses. Does each ward/unit need a charge nurse? Is there a maximum number of patients for each charge nurse?

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I don't know of any law requiring charge nurses, sorry.

I do know that by law in CA, nurse-to-patient ratios must be maintained, so if they were using these charge nurses in the ratio math, they will either have to hire more staff nurses or cut their admissions.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

I don't live in CA and I don't know what their law is.

Everywhere I have worked their seems to be no law re: charge nurses. Sometimes the charge is a "free" charge (i.e, no assignments, most days); sometimes the charge has an assignment (usually this is only on nights, and, on nights, the charge almost always has an assignment in places I have worked). There also seems to be no rule/law governing how much experience the charge nurse has and they don't have to be "trained" for charge. For example, I have seen cases where it is "the charge called off so Sally [who has no charge experience] is going to be charge tonight."

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