Charge Nurse
The role of the Charge Nurse
The role of the Charge Nurse (RMN) is to use your clinical experience to ensure you and your team deliver the highest standard of patient care, working as an effective member of the multi-disciplinary team, offering expertise and knowledge of the Mental Health and Mental Capacity Acts.
Promote the best interests of the patients and carers ensuring prescribed nursing care is comprehensive and effectively implemented. Exercising professional accountability and responsibility using professional skills and knowledge to maintain a safe environment.
Managing your staff team and ensuring compliance with statutory regulations. The charge nurse provides leadership to the nursing team and deputises for the Unit Manager in their absence.
Your role will include
It is best if your GP refers you since there are several benefits:
- To assess, plan, audit and implement patient care plans, incorporating risk assessments, risk management and engagement plans
- Ensure that all care-plans written by yourself or your staff are comprehensive and are understood and written in collaboration with the patient, taking account of patient choice and wishes.
- Ensure that each professional involved in the care of the patient has been represented in the care-plan.
- Ensure that every patient has a copy of their current care-plan.
- Ensure that a patient’s capacity and willingness to consent to the care-plan is documented.
- Accurately observe and engage with patients in order to assess their needs and evaluate their progress, respond to changes in patients condition and needs.
- Monitor and review Nursing care plans to ensure best possible care given
- Ensure named nurses meet with the patient at least once a week to establish a therapeutic rapport.
- Ensure that decisions disseminated to you on handover from ward rounds are acted upon and, if necessary, incorporated into the care-plan.
- Liaise with other professionals and agencies as required.
- Deal proactively and effectively with suggestions and complaints from patients and their families/carers, escalate were necessary to management team and ensure concluded to satisfaction of all
- Develop and maintain a good professional relationship with patients, colleagues and visitors responding promptly and courteously to requests, enquiries and suggestions
- Ensure supervision of your staff group Monthly
- Ensure appraisal of your staff group twice yearly
- Ensure probations for staff are completed in a timely manner.
- Ensure good quality handovers are undertaken between shifts.
- Prioritise nursing duties and delegate appropriately and effectively within the shift.
- co-ordination working as the nurse in charge as required
- Delegate tasks as appropriate ensuring observation and therapeutic engagement of patients is maintained at all times.
- Undertake clinical outcome measures with the appropriate tools as required
- Adhere to Medicines Management policies at all times within professional guidelines and adhere to NMC Code
- Ensure that all hospital medication procedures are followed including the ordering and storage of medications.
- Ensure that all staff on the shift are aware of any observable side-effects of medication.
- Be familiar with the use of emergency medication.
- Conduct medication audits to ensure compliance against national standards.