CNA Training Practice Test

Understanding the chain of command is about who has authority over nursing staff on a shift. The charge nurse serves as a frontline nursing leader who coordinates patient care and supervises other nursing staff. In most facilities, this role reports to the nursing supervisor (the immediate manager who handles staffing, supervision, and day-to-day operations of the nursing team). The administrator runs the entire facility at a higher level, not as the direct supervisor for the charge nurse. An occupational therapist is a different clinical discipline with its own supervision, and family members are not part of the facility’s formal command structure. So, the charge nurse’s direct supervisor is the nursing supervisor.