Charge nurse as a leader: Nursing

Nurse Jeehae is the charge nurse during night shift on a respiratory unit. Around midnight, Nurse Jeehae receives a call from Nurse Henry in the Emergency Department who says, “I’ll be sending up three admissions to you in 30 minutes. I’m sorry but we need to clear beds to make room for more clients.” Nurse Jeehae says, “I understand; we’ll make it work.” After ending the call, Nurse Jeehae informs the staff nurses who will be taking the new client admissions and learns that these rooms haven’t been cleaned and aren’t ready for new clients yet. Just as Nurse Jeehae is about to call the housekeeper, she sees one of the newly admitted clients already being wheeled into the unit by a nursing assistant. The client’s family member appears angry and states, “I demand to speak to the manager of this unit. We’ve been in the ED for 6 hours and my brother’s IV is bleeding!” Nurse Jeehae recognizes that there are several issues requiring her immediate attention, therefore, she’ll use her leadership skills to manage this situation as the charge nurse.

A charge nurse is a nurse who is responsible for the management and leadership of a group of staff during a specified period of time or a shift. The charge nurse oversees operations on their unit such as supporting and training staff in their area, organizing nurse-client assignments, and resolving conflict. If there’s an issue the charge nurse can’t resolve, they'll bring it to the nurse manager. In some cases, the charge nurse also provides direct care to clients in addition to the other charge nurse duties. Another important responsibility for charge nurses is collaboration. The charge nurse collaborates with a variety of individuals within the healthcare environment to facilitate safe client care and unit processes. First, the charge nurse interacts with nurses and may serve as a role model or resource for them, especially novice nurses. The charge nurse may also act as a liaison between the staff and the nurse manager by communicating unit issues and concerns the nurse manager may not witness first hand.

The charge nurse may also coordinate communication between nurses and interdisciplinary healthcare team members, such as physicians, social workers, and case managers, as well as charge nurses on other units. Finally, the charge nurse may need to answer questions posed by clients and their family members as well as resolve conflicts between clients, family members, and their healthcare providers. Now, the charge nurse role differs from the nurse manager’s role. The nurse manager is the formal leader of a nursing care area who has responsibilities which don’t usually include direct client care. Nurse manager duties may include budgeting, attending organizational meetings, and hiring and interviewing staff. The nurse manager is responsible for overseeing the unit or facility at all times, whereas the charge nurse focuses on leading staff during a limited period of time, such as a Nurse Jeehae on this particular night shift. So now that you understand the charge nurse’s role, let’s take a look at how to become a charge nurse.