Overview
The Charge Nurse's Staffing Decision
At the start of a shift, two nurses call in sick, an admission is arriving from the emergency department, and one current patient has become newly confused and hypotensive.
At the start of a shift, two nurses call in sick, an admission is arriving from the emergency department, and one current patient has become newly confused and hypotensive. Simply dividing the remaining patients evenly would produce equal numbers but not an equal or safe workload. The charge nurse's assignment is a safety decision. It matches the client's acuity, instability and expected care trajectory with the receiving nurse's authorised scope and demonstrated competence, then accounts for workload, skill mix, available support and the requirements of the jurisdiction. The assignment must be revisited when any of those variables changes. A nurse who raises a workload or competence concern is identifying a patient-safety risk, not merely expressing reluctance. The Canadian Nurses Association's 2025 Code of Ethics addresses ethical responsibilities in formal and informal leadership and psychologically safe workplaces. That supports a charge nurse who invites specific concerns, responds to them, and escalates unresolved risks rather than expecting staff to absorb them silently. [14][15]