Should nurses be forced to take charge against their will?

[luv2dive]

hi everyone!

this is my first time posting here and i wanted to say that i'm glad i found this forum. this seems to be a great way to share support and information, and i look forward to reading many more of your posts.

i was curious to know how everyone feels about staff nurses being forced into the role of taking charge. not neccessarily brand new nurses, but nurses who have had at least 2 - 3 years experience on a particular unit, but simply desire to remain in the staff nurse position without the added stress and responsibility of taking charge.

i feel that it's not always the # of years of experience, or level of clinical skill that automatically qualifies one for the role of charge nurse. some people by nature are more assertive, handle stress better, and adapt well to leadership positions. others do not.

what does everyone think about this? rc

[JeannieT]

I am a new nurse training with a very seasoned nurse who has been a charge nurse in orthopedic unit for 2 years prior to this gig. We are both in our 40's.

One day we came in and she found out she was the charge nurse (in addition to 4 PCU patients and me, her trainee) - she is a traveler right now (due to be an employee soon). She kept saying "clinical lead" and then "charge nurse" so I finally asked her what the difference was.

She said, clinical lead gets paid (as in our regular clinical lead who was sick that day and gets $3.65 more an hour as it is her full time position) and here was my nurse filling in and she said she doesn't get anything - so she calls it charge nurse. We had a good laugh over it and she takes BS very well.

However, I have NEVER worked in any field where one of the employees got to play manager for no extra pay on a rotating/regular basis. It is one thing when a manager in an office goes on vacation and puts "so and so" in charge for the week. However, no important decisions or tasks are ever taken on by that person because it is not their fulltime job and they are not being compensated for the task.

Nursing is really a very strange world. Nurses need to recognize how much they are being used for the benefit of administration. Professionals DEMAND respect in every aspect of their work, from the tangible to the intangible.

[anniev]

They stick a little "c" by your name, when I committed to my NM she said "It's not a b**bie prize I trust you", But it still would be nice to actually be asked.

[elizabeth321]

We find out if we are charge the day we arrive..though people have the option to look in the book ahead if they want......Liz

[VivaRN]

As a relatively new nurse, I started out ready to be charge when the time came for me. However, the blame for not "fixing staffing" for the next shift falls on the charge nurse. It's a huge issue. Inadequate staff. Your fault. Never mind that no one wants to come in (again) or the staffing office has turned a deaf ear. Total drama... not something I want to be a part of.

:trout:

[EarthChild1130]

In my hospital we have designated charge nurses whose sole job it is to be charge...they don't take patients or anything...they're just kind of the managers of the shift...they get paid an extra $4 an hour to do that.

I've done it in cases where there was a gap between where one 8-hour charge nurse left at 1500 and one wasn't coming in till 1900 (some folks at our place work 8 hour shifts and some, like me, work 12 hour shifts)...I do it then, but I've never worked a full shift as charge, since I'm not 'designated' (thank the gods)! I hate being charge for only those 4 little hours!