Charge Nurse with success!

Yup, it is true. Today is the seventh day since my final day of orientation. (Not the seventh day of work since orientation, simply the seventh day.) Yesterday, I was the Charge Nurse. I started my morning checking the crash carts and supplies at 0600. I then had to get report and make the assignments for the day. I had 4 RNs on the floor and one sit tele. So at 0645 we all sat down for report. Two RNs started with 3 patients while the other one and I started with two. I was the "clean" nurse as we thought we were going to get a patient following cardiac surgery but we found out early that the patient would not be coming back to us that day.

The House Supervisor came by about 9am for report. On my floor every RN is supposed to have a general idea about each patient so we can cover when things happen, but when you are charge you have to know everything. It is crazy!

I transferred one by lunch so I took a patient from one of the RNs with three. About 3pm I finally discharged one that should have been gone at lunch when I transferred my other one. So I was down to one patient again. The Hosue Supervisor came by again for a second report, thankfully I only had to give her updates.

At about 4pm we started getting hit. One transferring from the Internediate Care Unit, one admit from the ER, and a transfer from the fifth floor. The patient I admitted from the ER was very quickly taken to the PACU to be preped for a quick procedure. The MD team was so eager to treat her that they hadn't even gotten a signed consent or picked up the chart before they were trying to take her off the floor. I literally had to run down the hallway after them to get my tele box off the patient as they simply wheeled the patient away without telling any of the staff on the floor. (Sometimes the Interns drive me nuts!)

By the end of the shift everyone was still breathing and more importantly everyone was in better shape than when we arrived for the day. One day as charge nurse down, only four more this month...