Meaning & use
charge nurse
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablemedical
A senior nurse who is responsible for managing a hospital ward or unit during a shift.
Grammar: Countable, with an or the: the charge nurse on the ward.
Patterns
- charge nurse on something
The charge nurse assigned the patients to each nurse at the start of the shift.
Ask the charge nurse if visitors can stay late.
After ten years on the ward, she was promoted to charge nurse.
Word forms
| plural | charge nurses |
|---|
Common combinations
- the charge nurse on duty
- The charge nurse on duty will see you soon.
- become a charge nurse
- He hopes to become a charge nurse next year.
- night charge nurse
- The night charge nurse handled the emergency calmly.
- charge nurse of a ward
- She is charge nurse of the children's ward.
- report to the charge nurse
- New staff report to the charge nurse.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ward manager
- Is the current British title in many hospitals for the same kind of post.
- nurse manager
- Is more common in the US and may cover a whole department.
- sister
- Is the older British title for a female senior ward nurse.
- head nurse
- Is a general term that can mean the top nurse of a unit or hospital.
Commonly confused: charge nurse or matron?
charge nurse vs matron
Historically the most senior nurse in a hospital, above ward-level staff.
Practice
Who is responsible for organizing the nurses and patients on a hospital ward during a shift?
Choose one answer.
The charge nurse manages the ward for a shift; porters move patients and items, receptionists handle desk tasks and pharmacists give out medicines.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “charge nurse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.