Wondering about extent of charge nurse help/support

[beeble]

Hi, of course I work on an understaffed, horrebdous unit....getting worse. It seems every time I work, I start getting stressed, there is a patient problem, ect.

Its the patient problems that I am wondering about. If there are no problems, MAYBE I can do what I am supposed to on the shift (assess, turns, meds, chart, ect) If there is a problem, the rest get neglected to some extent.

Wondering the extent of charge nurse expectations to help out when there is an issue, be it needing a sitter to a low blood sugar of 20, ect. that can zap my resources.

The current charges DONT help at all, an its getting frustrating. Or they behave as though my issue is a bother and I need to eal with it. Alone, and/or with the MD (and to let them know).

[Jules A, MSN]

Do they have their own patient assignment? One place I work the charge is basically just someone with the title because they have the same patients so to expect them to do any more than pitch in as anyone would if someone is in the weeds and they aren't busy. My other job the charge nurses do not normally have patients assigned to them and most of them are great about helping nurses in need, but not all. Good luck, the short staffing that is so common now really sucks for all involved especially for our poor patients.

[LouisVRN, RN]

IMO the charge is a resource to go to, whether it be putting a page out for a doctor, walking you through a new procedure, de-escalate a patient situation or calling staffing to see if there is a SWAT/sitter available for a patient. So therefore, imho, it is reasonable to expect the charge nurse to give you guidance as far as to what you need to be doing for a critical patient and make sure the resources are readily available to you but unless your charge nurse is highly motivated and empathetic I wouldn't expect them to begin to assess and medicate your other patients for you while you are tied up with a critical patient. While this would be nice, in my experience, its not realistic. I have noticed that several of the charge nurses I have worked with/for have had superiority complexes that impeded their ability to truly be helpful in certain situations. With that being said when I become charge, or even when I have filled in as charge, if a patient calls and wants water/to go to the bathroom/their IV is beeping and I know the patient is allowed I do not hesitate to actually march my butt down to the patients room and take care of it and then let the nurse know when shes not busy.

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

Where I work, the CN is usually "free," so we do help out, but like everything else--especially in nursing--you have to find a balance. In charge, with no patients, I usually have enough to do to keep me pretty busy. Of course, there are a number of things that no one will die if they aren't done, so they can be set aside if it helps keep someone from dying. For that matter, some things that are sorta crucial, like checking the code carts, can wait a bit if there is something more pressing. On the other hand, management wants us to encourage nurses to look to each other instead of automatically going to the charge for, say, a difficult IV or a patient that needs to toilet. The good news is, our team already does a good bit of that, and there are several of us who do charge regularly, so if I'm off the floor with a transport, there's usually someone around who is at least as able to answer a question or help with a task. And if I do have a patient assigment along with charge, I can usually count on my peers to help with some of my chores.

I know I sometimes disappoint some of my coworkers by not being willing to jump in. Sometimes newer nurses think they need help with things they really need to learn to handle. I am not such an organized, talented nurse that I don't understand exactly how they feel, and, frankly, I have to discipline myself not to deprive them of the chance to learn things the hard way. Of course, if a patient is at risk, that's not the time to promote independence.

[meandragonbrett]

A) You need to learn to prioritize what is 1-Emergent 2-Urgent 3-Routine.

B)The charge nurse is not there to pick up your work every time you have a blood sugar of 20. Give some D50 and move on.

C) Some nurses don't feel comfortable just jumping in and helping out unless if you ASK for help and direct them what you need them to do.

My nurses know not to expect me to just jump in and take care of their other patient. If you ask me for help and tell me what you need done...I'll do anything in the world for you. But if you don't ask, I can't know that you need help.

[Caffeine_IV]

Charge nurse in my experience just means I get a few extra cents and a crap load of extra responsibility.

I work at night and help in any way I can but (emergencies aside) cannot neglect my duties to cover other people.