If your setting does not have a formal charge nurse orientation program, ask to shadow an experienced charge nurse. It is important to have a very clear understanding of the role and your own capabilties prior the accepting the responsibilties. On today’s busy and often chaotic patient care units, the team relies heavily on the charge nurse for their guidance and direction. In order to achieve all these responsibilities, the charge has to be very familiar with the policies and responsibiltiies of the organization. The charge nurse is expected to serve as a conduit for information provided from staff to management and from management to staff.
Health care settings today are very complex. It is not surprising that the role is compared to that of an air traffic controller. During the shift, charge nurses have to conduct real time assessments of unit activity. Organizations today depend on charge nurse to be gate keepers for safe and efficient care that meets all regulatory requirements. Charge nurses have accountability to the organization, staff and patients for care that is delivered. These are challenging responsibilities especially if you are in a setting where you are also expected to take a patient care assignment. Serving as a Liasion to Other Departments.Monitoring Unit-Based Performance Indicators.Evaluating Staffing and Assessing Unit Productivity throughout the Shift.Overseeing Care given by Licensed Practical Nurses and Patient Care Assistants.Monitoring New Orders written for Patient Care.Facilitating the Admission and Discharge of Patients to your Unit.
Ensuring that Staff and Patients receive the Support They Need.Making Patient Care Assignments and Delegating Care to Other Members of the Team.Depending upon the position description in your setting, your role could include any or all of the following: In some settings, charge nurses are called unit facilitators or shift coordinator and the role may be permanent or it can be rotated among staff. One definition for charge nurse is a nurse assigned to a particular unit or department that has been designated by a nurse manager or director to coordinate nursing activities on a particular shift. The title of charge nurse has been around since the early 1980’s. The charge nurse role is not uniform across all healthcare settings. Important keys to success in becoming an effective charge nurse include understanding the role responsibilities and developing the skills needed to enhance communication, reduce conflict and build team synergy.īefore you take charge for the first time, it is important to ask what the role responsibilities are and if a formal position description is available for you to review.
CHARGE NURSE ROLE PROFESSIONAL
Yet despite the challenges, embracing the role of charge nurse can provide enormous professional satisfaction and a tremendous leadership growth experience. It is a skillful balancing act and not all organizations provide the nurses with leadership training before they accept these responsibilities. Charge nurses are expected to lead staff while managing the work systems and processes on their units to insure that the needs of patients are met. It is not unusual to feel the type of anxiety that the nurse above expressed to me when she learned that her manager wanted her to take charge of her unit on the night shift. In today’s turbulent healthcare environment, nurses with less than one year of experience often find themselves being asked to take charge. But what if the staff does not respect me in the role and what if I fail?” Am I really ready to assume all this responsibility? My nurse manager thinks I have excellent leadership potential and is encouraging me to take the plunge. I know I have leadership skills but I am a relatively new nurse. “I am just not sure that I am ready to take charge on my unit.
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