Charge Nurse Interview
- What happens at the beginning of the shift: In the first 4 hours they check if they are fully staffed to make sure they have enough staff for patients. They also check how many beds there are for patients, and when working night shifts they scan for how many patients are on the floor, and prioritize patients that have more severe illnesses. They also check on how the patients are progressing with their prescribed plan of care. They then have a bedfork meeting where charge nurses get together and prioritize a certain unit. Then all the units come together and make sure all patients are taken care of while the rest of the night is maintained.
- Common Occurrences: Workplace violence in terms of patients harming staff whether be withdrawals from drug, alcohol, medications, or Alzheimer’s is a pretty common occurrence. This will never go away so charge nurses have to learn to deal with and understand trigger signs, step out of harm’s way, and calm down patients.
- Uncommon Occurrences: Code Blue(they undergo respiratory arrest/stop breathing or if their hear stops working)Happens once a few months. The patient is found by 1st responders or housekeeper and activates code blue(presses button) doctors come in and code team(compromised of staff specified for code blue) shocks the patient and puts a tube down their throat if airflow is compromised.
- Steps to become charge nurse: For nursing schools there are different programs like a 2 year program and 4 years. Such as 2 year community college and 4 years to university. And they have there own embedded nursing programs where you stay at the school for 4 years. Where you learn the same skills and practice in the same facilities. How hospitals are required to get a bachelor is that they can do a one year program to get a bachelors if they took a 2 year program. They can also apply to a job they want and when hired you become a staff nurse. and then you can apply to be a charge nurse.