What Is A Charge Nurse? Duties, Pay, and How to Become One

A charge nurse is a registered nurse (RN) who leads a nursing unit during a shift or specific period. Charge nurses undergo additional training to gain deeper leadership abilities, which they use alongside strong clinical and workplace skills while performing their managerial responsibilities.

If you're looking for nursing positions in which you'll get to make critical decisions, manage others, and coordinate workplace tasks, then you might consider a career as a charge nurse.

In this article, you'll learn more about what a charge nurse does, the benefits of choosing this career, and the typical educational requirements you decide to embark on this exciting career. 

What is a charge nurse?

Charge nurses are registered nurses (RNs) who supervise other nurses and other health care professionals within a unit or department in a health care facility.

Charge nurses pair patient care with managerial leadership. Unlike some health care administrative positions, such as clinical managers, charge nurses continue working with patients while occupying leadership positions. As a result, RNs who decide to become charge nurses are often those who wish to take on more responsibility and become leaders in their fields.

While there are many paths you can take in the nursing field, such as becoming a nurse practitioner or a nurse anesthetist, charge nurses have the unique responsibility of leading, managing, and supporting other registered nurses. You might also take this path if you enjoy making a difference in others' lives or are simply looking for a career that offers greater variety. 

Charge nurse vs. nurse manager

A charge nurse and nurse manager's job descriptions may seem similar, but they’re two different careers. Both positions typically start as RNs, make positive differences in patients' lives, and require years of experience and strong leadership skills. However, charge nurses and nurse managers have many different responsibilities.

Unlike charge nurses, nurse managers generally don't work directly with patients. Instead, they focus more on administrative and managerial duties, such as communicating with doctors, nurses, administrators, therapists, social workers, pharmacists, and other medical professionals. 

During their shifts, nurse managers might focus on ensuring a nursing unit is within budget while managing support staff and other health care professionals in their units. By contrast, a charge nurse might specifically focus on managing the nurses in their units and training new nurses.

In some health care facilities, though, job duties for a charge nurse and nurse manager may overlap. Some facilities may have a charge nurse and a nurse manager on duty, or they may just have one or the other. Always consider each job description carefully when seeking a new career, and ensure you're up to the task for any duties you may be involved in. 

Benefits of working as a charge nurse 

Being a charge nurse provides many benefits, such as work variety, making a difference in others' lives, and potentially improving job satisfaction.

If you decide to pursue work as a charge nurse, you'll have the opportunity to advance your career and likely find that you're doing something fulfilling and life-changing. 

Variety

When you work as a nurse, each day will typically be unique. Even if you work in one department and focus on the same issues daily, such as labour and delivery, each patient will bring their own challenges and needs. 

This is especially true for charge nurses. Not only are you serving unique patients every day, but you're also working with a team of nurses with unique abilities and challenges. With so many responsibilities, those pursuing a charge nurse career can expect physical and mental stimulation every time they go to work. 

Ability to make a difference

As a charge nurse, you'll continue to help patients and their loved ones while extending your support to other nurses in your unit. If your unit is well-organized and well-staffed, you’ll benefit from a more favourable environment for nurses and patients. Not only will you help your patients through hands-on care, but you'll also help ensure your unit is running smoothly, which can lead to better overall care for all administered patients.

As a charge nurse, you can help make a hospital or clinic a place where nurses are happy to work, and patients receive compassionate, quality care. 

Job satisfaction

Becoming a charge nurse might improve your overall job satisfaction, particularly if you're looking for a career move that provides increased responsibilities and leadership opportunities. As a charge nurse, you'll also solve problems, make big decisions, and improve your nursing unit’s operations.

It's also considered a positive move for a registered nurse who wants to learn more about how an organization works. It's your opportunity to gain new experiences. In addition to your clinical work, you'll learn more about scheduling, budgets, communication, and management. 

What is working as a charge nurse like?

There is no typical day for a charge nurse, especially if you work in a hospital setting. However, not all charge nurses work in hospitals or have the same responsibilities.

Let's look at the typical work settings you might encounter, the everyday duties many charge nurses share, the skills you'll need to become a charge nurse, and the job outlook and salary information. 

Where do charge nurses work?

Charge nurses typically work in hospitals, usually in a particular unit like labor and delivery, surgery, intensive care, or the emergency department. However, you can work in other medical settings, like clinics, doctor's offices, nursing homes, dialysis centers, rehabilitation facilities, home health care agencies, and urgent care. Jobs can be full-time, part-time, or as needed. 

Common responsibilities

A charge nurse's responsibilities will vary from job to job. Some facilities will have a charge nurse and a nurse manager, while others will just have a charge nurse, so you may handle various clinical and administrative tasks. These could include: 

• Supervising and supporting other nurses and unit staff 

• Creating staffing schedules and assigning nurses to patients or tasks 

• Training new hires or implementing new programs with existing staff 

• Overseeing safety compliance and ensuring that organizational regulations are met 

• Educating patients

• Meeting with administrators to discuss staff members and patient care successes and failures 

• Handling admissions and discharges 

• Monitoring supplies and ordering new ones as needed 

• Caring for patients yourself as required, such as when a nurse on your team is unable to complete a task

• Monitoring medication 

• Providing guidance and advice to your team of nurses 

• Evaluating nurses' performance 

• Monitoring patients' conditions and intervening when necessary

• Intervening in volatile situations involving patients, their loved ones, or staff members 

• Understanding each nurse's talents, abilities, and weaknesses and using them appropriately 

• Updating, revising, and approving patient care plans 

• Coordination with the nurse manager and other staff members 

• Checking the environment of the unit or patients' rooms for safety hazards 

• Ensuring medical equipment is functioning properly 

Key skills

Leadership skills are a must if you want to be a charge nurse. Your team of nurses, patients, and other staff members will look to you for guidance when something goes wrong or when they cannot answer a question themselves. 

You'll also need strong clinical skills, as you may need to step in when a nurse on your team doesn't know what to do to help a patient. There are many other critical human skills you can gain and improve on to ensure you can successfully fulfill the job requirements and enjoy being a charge nurse. These include: 

• Using good judgment

• Making quick decisions 

• Being organized 

• Being a good planner

• Staying flexible so you can handle whatever comes your way

• Communicating and coordinating with patients, patients' loved ones, nurses, physicians, and other support staff

• Evaluating situations constantly and making adjustments as needed 

• Thinking critically at all times 

• Remaining calm under pressure 

Job outlook and average salary 

According to Glassdoor, a charge nurse in Canada makes an average of$108,895  yearly, with salaries ranging from $67,000 to $176,000 [1].

Canada’s Job Bank ranks the registered nurse profession well, with an outlook of “very good” in 11 of 13 provinces [2].

How to become a charge nurse

Being a charge nurse starts with becoming a registered nurse and includes gaining experience and leadership skills. Many charge nurses also complete a charge nurse training program at a college or university. 

1. Gain a nursing credential.

Before becoming a charge nurse, you must first become a registered nurse. Charge nurses have at least a bachelor’s degree, and roughly 20 per cent have a master’s degree [3].

You may also need additional academic training or experience to specialize in a specific nursing area. Registered nurses also must register with the regulatory body of the province they work in.

2. Get licensed.

Each province has unique requirements for nursing licenses, so always verify you're doing what's required as you embark on your nursing career. Charge nurses do not necessarily need any sort of licensure or certification beyond this to do their jobs. However, the organization where you work may have special requirements. 

3. Gain professional experience.

Once you've become a registered nurse, your professional experience is where you can take steps toward becoming a charge nurse. You'll need to spend about three to five years working as a registered nurse in a clinical setting [4]. During that time, you may want to decide on a nursing specialty, such as labour and delivery or intensive care, and work on gaining as many skills as possible in this area. This is also a great time to advance your education and hone your leadership skills. 

4. Cultivate the right skills.

Leadership skills are a must if you want to be a charge nurse. Your team of nurses, patients, and other staff members will look to you for guidance when something goes wrong or when they're unable to answer a question themselves.

You'll also need strong clinical skills as you may need to step in when a nurse on your team doesn't know what to do to help a patient. There are many other critical human skills you can gain and improve on to ensure you can successfully fulfill the job requirements and enjoy being a charge nurse. These include:

• Using good judgment

• Making quick decisions

• Being organized

• Being a good planner

• Staying flexible so you can handle whatever comes your way

• Communicating and coordinating with patients, patients' loved ones, nurses, physicians, and other support staff

• Evaluating situations constantly and making adjustments as needed

• Thinking critically at all times

• Remaining calm under pressure

It can also be advantageous for a charge nurse to be creative and curious, and a good sense of humor can help you through some of the most trying health care situations.

Next steps 

One of the best ways to advance your nursing career is to continue learning and improving your skill set. Coursera offers flexible, online courses that help you learn about patient-centered care, pain management, mindfulness, leadership, and other topics important to being a charge nurse.

Take career-specific specializations, such as Integrative Nursing and Nursing Informatics Leadership Specialization, from top institutions like the University of Minnesota today.