The job of head nurse involves not only actual patient care but also supervising all the nurses that work in their division or department. They train and provide orientation sessions for newly-hired nurses and they make sure all nurses adhere to required standards of practice. They assign duties to the nurses in their division they are responsible for evaluating the performance of those they supervise and they check to make sure all patient records are properly annotated. Head nurses are usually responsible for keeping track of and ordering supplies and making sure there are no shortages. They often accompany doctors who are making rounds in their division and they keep doctors apprised of any patient concerns. The website www.samplejobdescriptions.org says that educational requirements for head nurses are bachelor’s degrees in nursing and licenses to practice in the state where they work. In addition head nurses must pass the National Council Licensure Exam. In most instances they must have approximately six years of experience working as nurses before they are eligible for promotion to a head nurse position. To be successful head nurses must have good leadership and interpersonal abilities excellent administrative skills and they must be able to communicate both orally and in writing. They must be very well organized and attentive to detail. Earnings for head nurses depend upon location experience and the institution where they work. According to the website www.payscale.com their annual pay ranges from approximately $54500 to $109500.
|Education Required:||Bachelor's Degree|
|Tasks:||Supervises a staff of nurses.
Coordinates nurses' activities.
Trains junior nurses.
Evaluates the performance of other nurses.
|Also Called:||Registered Nurse