I find my charge nurse is very dismissive and curt in her responses. Irritating because it is more of a parent-child relationship..."because I said so" mentality. There is no collaborating between her and the staff. She doesn't bother to talk to anyone unless she is giving us an admission. She sits at each nurses station and combs through the charts and uses that information to report off to the next charge. We call our own docs with problems and take care of the orders.
I guess my point is she has no empathy. She works for another hospital as a staff nurse and if she mentions one more time how she can take X amount of patients, take phone orders, pass all her meds on time and do CPR with her foot simultaneously (sarcasm) I am going to puke!
Here is an example of her dictatorship-style nature: Let's say 3 nurses are on days and have 6 patients a piece. Night shift is coming on with 3 nurses. None of the night nurses were there the night before and the acuity level is about the same. Instead of making it an even swap, she divides up the board so each nurse has to give report to 3 different oncoming nurses. If she had done it to split up high acuity or because of the skill level of a particular nurse it would be different. This happens over and over and it drags out the reporting off process frequently. When I have asked her why it is split up that way, she gets very defensive as though I am challenging her authority. Her response is a huffy, "because that's the way I want it"
She is bringing the moral down. Of course, the house sup loves her because she gets all her admissions beds PDQ.
I know she has charge duties to attend to and I am not asking that she be at my beck and call or be but we are humans not machines.
Yes, it is a large unit for one charge. I agree it is a stressful job. I do feel, however, we should be able to approach the charge without getting "dismissed" with a flip comment or our concerns trivialized.
Tell me please the role of your charge nurses in a hospital setting.
BTW, thanks for the input.
In the ER it was to make patient assignments, control the flow of the unit (triage, minor care, medical and trauma), handle any staff/pt/physician issues, help other staff as needed, and if staffing was really bad take a pt. assignment. I know from watching and talking with other charge nurses it is about the same on the floors.
I have a laid back and relaxed style. I don't dictate, I don't bark and I definately don't bite. I get my addmissions up lickety split and tolerate no nonsense. But I don't have to be curt and abrasive to get it done. Fortunately, I don't really get much nonsense in return. Every unit has one or two problem nurses and I have mine (read my blog), but overall we collaborate and we all work very hard.
I expect my staff to tell me when they are in the weeds and I will jump in and help. I don't read minds. I always explain myself "you're getting an admission because...........", "I'm mixing up the assignment because........." and I try to stay approachable and open.
My problem lately is I that sometimes I tend to be too Laissez Faire and don't step in when problems arise, letting things work out on their own, and I'm a people pleaser trying to make everyone happy and be everyone's friend.
Anyway, that's me and you weren't asking about me were you? lol I'm guess what I'm saying is no, that is not a charge nurse trait. There are many styles. It does sound like there are some issues that need to be ironed out. It sounds like you've tried to work them out and perhaps the chain of command is indicated here. Try to present facts, instead of like "she always.........", and "she never........". Instead say "four times this past week she changed the assignment on nights for no obvious reason........and on Friday she.........." Good luck.
Sometimes even though you give respect and expect it in return, you're not going to it. Something I've learned to accept.
I have a nurse currently that isn't speaking to me. I'm actually liking that, because she's not ranting and raving, so it's works for me.
:D Aw, tweety, I know what you mean!! I used to work with a certain CNA - when she was mad at me, and not speaking to me, my nights went so much smoother!! Because then she would just do her work and not follow me around talking and distracting me.
:D Aw, tweety, I know what you mean!! I used to work with a certain CNA - when she was mad at me, and not speaking to me, my nights went so much smoother!! Because then she would just do her work and not follow me around talking and distracting me.
mianders, RN
236 Posts
In the ER it was to make patient assignments, control the flow of the unit (triage, minor care, medical and trauma), handle any staff/pt/physician issues, help other staff as needed, and if staffing was really bad take a pt. assignment. I know from watching and talking with other charge nurses it is about the same on the floors.