Running head: HAVING AN EDUCATED CHARGE NURSE MAY IMPROVE PATIENT
OUTCOMES
Having an Educated Charge Nurse May Improve Patient Outcomes
Amanda Hubbard, RN
Ferris State University
HAVING AN EDUCATED CHARGE NURSE MAY IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES
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Abstract
Charge nurses according to research need to be educated on many areas to help improve patient
safety and quality care. This is accomplished by competencies both mandatory and voluntary that
focus on monitoring nurses, direct coaching/ shadowing the nurse, and conflict management. By
having an educated charge nurse patient outcomes are better and so are safety numbers.
Keywords: charge nurse, education, safety, quality care
HAVING AN EDUCATED CHARGE NURSE MAY IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES
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Having an Educated Charge Nurse May Improve Patient Outcomes
Patient outcomes are what drive hospitals these days. With patient satisfaction scores
being used to calculate reimbursement, hospitals are putting more pressure on nurses to be more
responsible for the care they provide. Therefore, nurses must be up to date on the latest research
and be able to use that research in their practice. Charge nurses can help the patients and staff
achieve better quality and safe care. They are the ones that keep up to date on research and why
policies are instituted. They are the floor nurses frontline.
PICO Question
In acute care settings, does having an educated charge nurse increase patient outcomes
compared to not having one. It would seem like a good idea to have someone available to floor
staff when patients have a higher acuity, when turnover rates are high and there are more
responsibilities on floor nurses. According to Krugman et al (2013), Charge nurses (CN) hold
significant oversight of patient safety, quality and team functioning, (pg. 438).
With patients being more educated on medical conditions and treatments and severity of
illnesses are on the rise, patients are also becoming more demanding. With nursing shortages and
nurses becoming over worked, the risk to patients is becoming frighteningly high. Having an
extra set of hands when the floor nurse is with other patients would help to lessen safety issues
and increase patients quality of care. When there is not an assigned charge nurse, patient
satisfaction decreases, safety issues increase, and there is no team atmosphere.
Research Findings
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In an acute care setting, one way to communicate that an educated charge nurse can
increase patient outcomes is to show why this is true. To do that the nurse leader would need to
show how the research affects patient outcomes. The nurse would need to have a plan put
together with evidence that this would work and how it would work. The nurse would have to
collaborate with not only nurses and managers but with the hospital board to implement this
change into practice. The easiest way for the nurse to disseminate this information to his/her
place of employment would be to use poster on each of the units. These posters would show how
the plan was going to work and the research that supports the changes.
CN leaders impact patient and nurse satisfaction ratings, risk management and safety
issues, physician relations and the patient discharge process, all critical hospital metrics,
(Krugmen et al, 2013). When nurses do not have a charge nurse, all of these responsibilities fall
upon them along with caring for a team of patients and all of the charting that goes along with
those patients. Having an extra set of hands that can help educate and care for the patients and
nurses not only improves nursing satisfaction but patient satisfaction as well.
Leadership courses were introduced in order to educate charge nurses on leadership
responsibilities. Two courses were introduced one on coaching employees toward improved
performance and the other on financial management (Krugmen et al, 2013). A Charge Nurse
Leadership Counsel was also established in order to improve effectiveness of the charge nurse
role. Nurses in this research trail believed that these courses helped only marginally. These
nurses gave suggestions such as; having direct coaching available and having management
shadow them to improve charge nurse skills.
HAVING AN EDUCATED CHARGE NURSE MAY IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES
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According to Agnew and Flin (2013), The results suggest that when SCNs engage in
more monitoring behaviours, their staff nurses report more safety compliance behaviours and
when they show higher frequency of recognizing behaviours, less incidents (of medium severity)
are reported at the unit level for patients (pg. 9).This research shows, that having a charge nurse
to monitor floor nurses helps to decrease safety issues for patients and staff. Again, having an
extra set of eyes, ears and hands help the floor nurses to achieve better quality care.
In the article, Charge Nurse Perspectives on Frontline Leadership in Acute Care
Environments, Sherman et al (2011) stated, Nurses are often placed in leadership situations
without the needed competencies and skills to meet these challenges and other important
organizational imperatives, ( pg. 1). Their recommendation is competency development for
nurses in the role of charge nurse. One of the suggestions for competencies was in conflict
management. Charge nurses deal with conflict among peers, patients and physicians. By
educating nurses on conflict management, that would increase production for the nurses, and
increase patient satisfaction.
Recommendations to Improve Quality and Safety
Leadership courses, a charge nurse that monitors floor nurses, competencies and
education on conflict management are all recommendations that can be incorporated into any
facility. First of all, all nurses should be encouraged to receive their Bachelors degrees. Bachelor
prepared nurses decrease mortality rates. By having a charge nurse that is well educated, they can
in return advance the profession using the knowledge they have gained. Charge nurses can help
to implement healthcare policies by being leaders in acute care settings.
Conclusion
HAVING AN EDUCATED CHARGE NURSE MAY IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES
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In todays healthcare setting education of nurses is a must. Charge nurses that are further
educated help to reduce safety issues and improve quality of care. Nurses can keep themselves
educated by complying with mandatory and voluntary competencies. Hospitals must encourage
education of the charge nurse in areas that pose direct threats to safety and quality care. By
educating one charge nurse, she then educates many staff nurses, making the workplace a safe
place for patients where they can receive quality care.
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References
Agnew, C. & Flin, R., (2013). Senior charge nurses leadership behaviours in relation to
hospital ward safety: A mixed method study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 113. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnurstu.2013.10.001.
Krugman, M., Heggem, L., Kinney, L.J., & Frueh, M. (2013). Longitudinal charge nurse
leadership development and evaluation. Journal of Nursing Administration, 43(9), 438446.
Sherman, R.O., Schwarzkoph, R., & Kiger, A.J., (2011). Charge nurse perspectives on frontline
leadership in acute care environments. International Scholarly Research Network, 2011,
1-8. doi:10.5402/2011/164052.
