Emergency Room Charge Nurse

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2007

I have been an ER nurse for about 5 years now, and have been doing charge RN duties for about 2 to 3 years. We don't have a designated charge RN position on our unit -- we take turns. Any experienced staff nurse who has been trained to do it can be "it" for the day for an extra $1.25 per hour. I used to enjoy doing it, but lately I just seem to hate it. Our nurse manager even said it is the worst job on the unit. How many of you here do charge duties? Do you rotate it, or is there someone who is hired to do it exclusively? Has anyone here done it for awhile then said "no mas"?
Thanks!
-Mark

For only a buck twenty five?????? NO WAY...........It is the worst and the most important job as is triage but a buck twenty five?? NO WAY:angryfire

Uptoherern, RN · Jun 17, 2007

I am jealous. I'vebeen a nurse for 15 years. and i get paid 75 cents an hour for charge.

oh yeah and I am also either triage or take full assignment of patients.

somedays I feel like my head is spinning 360 degrees for 12 hours in a row.

ick.

swartzrn · Jun 17, 2007

I work in the DoD system and a couple of years ago we got a "promotion" to a higher GS level which included every RN who was that level had to do charge duties. Before that though there were a few of us who always did charge. Some of our nurse's had no interest in doing charge whatsoever and went to other units. Now we basically all take turns.

widi96 · Jun 17, 2007

Wow. You all have it good. Our hospital doesn't pay the charges any differential. (And the younger nurses fight for who gets to do it) :) :)

loricatus · Jun 17, 2007

If one of the assistant managers isn't on, then charge is rotated among staff with no extra pay. Personally, I think there is one other position worse than being charge-TRIAGE!!!

jojotoo, RN · Jun 17, 2007

We have specific, designated charge nurses. We don't normally take an assignment, but serve as a resource person, an extra pair of hands, and a facilitator - getting patients admitted to the floor, transferred to another hospital, arranging for special supplies. We also do evaluations for the other staff. And of course we handle patient complaints.

rjflyn, ASN, RN · Jun 17, 2007

:yeahthat: :yeahthat:

The ED is to busy a place not to have a charge nurse unless it is a unusually small for one. I have enough on my plate caring for the patients to not have to deal with the BS as well. I mean we admit people who should go home, send people home who should be admitted, care for way more pts than we probably should in most cases. There has to be someone there to cover my be back and for that i am thankful for

Rj

Joe B1 · Jun 18, 2007

I had been a nurse for 2 yrs when I started charge and ended up doing it for 6 yrs on 11p-7a shift. I only got an extra 25 cents/hr then, but it's been a few years ago. It actually is the second worst job in the ED, the first being a tie between triage nurse and unit clerk. I had to be able to do the UC duties as well because there was no relief for the UC on nights, and I had to carry a full pt load. It was oodles of stress being in charge and I've only willingly done it since then when I've known that the other alternative person would have been a bloody disaster.

Fortunately, when I was full time charge, I enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the ED director and always got the top of the line newbies and got to break them in the way I thought was best. I had some of the best night crews I've ever seen and we could handle whatever came at us. I really enjoyed working with those kids.

The last time I voluntarily did charge was at a very dysfunctional facility that shall remain nameless but was in the throws of playing to satisfaction surveys. I had to deal with idiotic complaints and surveys that we didn't get "all fives" on and I left that place. Doing charge in that place was like chasing a pyromaniac on meth and trying to put out the fires with a glass of water. Then they added a heavy layer of BS on top. Not worth it at all.

Joe

jojotoo, RN · Jun 18, 2007

Doing charge in that place was like chasing a pyromaniac on meth and trying to put out the fires with a glass of water. Joe

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :roll :roll :roll :yeah: :yeah: :yeah:

So true!

eborgelt · Jun 19, 2007

We have 3 designated charge nurses on the 7a-7p shift and 3 designated charge nurses on the 7p-7a shift. We do get paid more base pay than the non-designated charge nurses by about $1.50. If one of the designated charge nurses aren't there, one of the experienced nurses gets 50 cents extra an hour for relief charge. We don't get a lot of extra pay, but we are only a 19 bed community hospital with an 8 bed fast track area. Charge also doesn't take a patient assignment unless we are short staffed.

allnurses Guide · Jun 23, 2007

We rotate it among the designated charge nurses, even had a competency for charge duties for a while that you had to pass. Our charge pay is around $2/h. Not supposed to have to take patients, but you know how that goes when we are short staffed. Have to have been on the floor for at least a year, and are part of the charge nurse committee, which is supposed to meet monthly with the unit manager to discuss floor issues and determine how things get done. Hasn't happened it a while as we have no manager and no ED director at the moment....