Charge Nurse: A Case Study
On my charge nurse day, there were staffing and communication issues. The unit was overstaffed and as charge nurse, we needed to find out which employees were due to float to other units. I think that this takes important leadership skills and the ability to delegate to individuals. These skills are crucial to utilize in the work place, in addition to “developing excellent communication skills [because] … it requires the ability to express yourself clearly and to understand another person” (Black 170). I think that this is a core personality trait to develop because without great communication skills, one cannot effectively function as a charge nurse. As charge, it was our duty to determine the last time that staff floated. Those who hadn’t
floated in a while would ultimately be floated to other units. This required organizational skills and communication skills. We made a record of who had floated and when in order to have the information that we needed once shift change came. We effectively adapted because we worked out the issue and acted accordingly. Another challenge that we faced was dealing with nurse’s timeliness, or lack thereof, when it came to morning report. One of the nurses was float team and didn’t have much regard for making it to morning report within a timely manner. It was interesting because she had apparently floated to the unit before and this was the first time that she had done this. I think that this challenge showed two things: one was that objectively, she was not very timely with her report and two gossip was a real thing. The other nurses discussed how this wasn’t the first time in detail and how other units apparently didn’t think that she was much of a help. My nurse did not contribute to this discussion but she also didn’t put a stop to it. As Black discussed, it’s important for nurses to remind others that these behaviors are not a part of nursing and shouldn’t be done. As a student, I didn’t acknowledge it because it wasn’t being told to me. However, I think that it’s important to not contribute or perpetuate these behaviors because it could simply be contributing to the spread of unnecessary rumors/gossip.
floated in a while would ultimately be floated to other units. This required organizational skills and communication skills. We made a record of who had floated and when in order to have the information that we needed once shift change came. We effectively adapted because we worked out the issue and acted accordingly. Another challenge that we faced was dealing with nurse’s timeliness, or lack thereof, when it came to morning report. One of the nurses was float team and didn’t have much regard for making it to morning report within a timely manner. It was interesting because she had apparently floated to the unit before and this was the first time that she had done this. I think that this challenge showed two things: one was that objectively, she was not very timely with her report and two gossip was a real thing. The other nurses discussed how this wasn’t the first time in detail and how other units apparently didn’t think that she was much of a help. My nurse did not contribute to this discussion but she also didn’t put a stop to it. As Black discussed, it’s important for nurses to remind others that these behaviors are not a part of nursing and shouldn’t be done. As a student, I didn’t acknowledge it because it wasn’t being told to me. However, I think that it’s important to not contribute or perpetuate these behaviors because it could simply be contributing to the spread of unnecessary rumors/gossip.