By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN Charge nurses have a unique challenge in work environments because they have to learn to lead teams of staff and manage patients with little formal power. When all is working well on the unit and with the team, this is not a problem. But when a staff member, patient, physician or family member is a difficult person to keep happy, the … [Read more...]
Charge Nurse Series Part 4 – How to Manage Conflict
By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN In research that I have done with charge nurses, conflict management has been identified as the top challenge that they confront in their roles. Charge nurses reported that they are frequently mediating conflicts that occur with physicians, other departments, among team members or sometimes with family. The generational diversity in the … [Read more...]
Charge Nurse Series Part 3 – How to Communicate Effectively
By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." Stephen Covey Several years ago, I was involved in a series of 10 charge nurse workshops conducted by a large health system. As part of these workshops, we surveyed the 350 charge nurses who attended about their thoughts about their role challenges and qualities important to doing the … [Read more...]
Charge Nurse Series Part 2 – How to Delegate Care
By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN Many charge nurses find it difficult to delegate tasks to other members of their health care team. When done well, delegation can be a very effective management tool. It frees professional nurses to attend to more complex client needs, develop the skills of nursing assistive personnel and promote cost containment for the organization. … [Read more...]
Charge Nurse Series Part 1 – Leading your Team
By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN, “Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story”. Casey Stengel Many nurses today are reluctant to take charge nurse roles. Charge nurses are unsung heroes in today's health-care environment. Their nursing leadership is right at the point of care and critical to better patient outcomes. … [Read more...]