is hospice case mgmt good learning?

Specialties Case Management

Published

Hello, I am a bedside RN trying to break into case mgmt world because I want to see the big picture, and I won't lie, I am burnt out of direct care, but please don't misunderstand that I see cm as a way to escape bedside. I just was always fascinated by the cm side of nursing, where you are able to actually think and use your head instead of almost blindly following orders even if you had your idea.

Is hospice case management a good stepping stone/learning ground for someone who is trying to break into case management? Thank you.

kimima01

60 Posts

Specializes in telemetry, ortho, med-surg.

Rearview, I would believe so, as a hospice case manager IS a case manager. I, like you, am an ER nurse. I have a second interview for a case management position. I have zero CM experience, by the way. I was actually interviewing for a totally different position when the hiring manager asked if I would be interested in a CM position instead. She said she is more than willing to train the right person with no experience, rather than hire someone with experience who is not a good fit. Have you looked for CM positions in your current facility? It is a good place to start. Keep looking. There is a CM position out there with your name on it! Best of luck to you.

Specializes in Oncology, LDRP, Case Management.

Yes, I was a Hospice case manager and feel the experience I obtained was a great transition to my other case management jobs. Hospice case management requires compassion, patient advocacy and prioritizing, as well as other qualities that are important to case management. Wishing you the best of luck

Specializes in ER.

Thank you!

Specializes in ER.
Yes, I was a Hospice case manager and feel the experience I obtained was a great transition to my other case management jobs. Hospice case management requires compassion, patient advocacy and prioritizing, as well as other qualities that are important to case management. Wishing you the best of luck

hey thank you for your response. now I want to ask you a question and I don't want you to take it the wrong way. As you know, I am an ER nurse, and ER is a great place for a nurse to burn out on direct care completely, and without hiding anything, I am emotionally burnt out, I will not lie. I want to make it clear however that I am pursuing cm for its own unique, special, and awesome features that only cm can hold, but in this new transition to cm, I am also looking forward to not doing so much "nursing task, handing out blankets, sandwich, starting ivs, doing labs labs, meds meds, orders orders, wiping patients rectum, etc" you know, all the physical/body oriented things. I want to sit down and use my head for once, and get a break from direct care for my own health as well. Is this a reasonable expectation for hospice cm? Thank you.

Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
Is this a reasonable expectation for hospice cm? Thank you.

No! Hospice Case Manager are not the same as the case managers that frequent this forum. Hospice Case Managers are Hospice Nurses, so they do provide direct bedside care.

The Case Managers that frequent this forum are working in a different area of nursing where there is no direct bedside patient care. There is direct patient care in the sense that we have to be involved with active medical orders, think on our feet, assess patients, talk to the IDT and MDs etc... but in all of the places I have worked as a case manager, I was not allowed to touch patients.

BTW, I am a former ED nurse and a good place for us is the ED! Try looking at ED Case Management positions with former employers. The job is hard, stressful, and not easy to learn... but that is no different then any other Case Manager position. :) Good luck!

Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
Rearview, I would believe so, as a hospice case manager IS a case manager.

Yes and no. Hospice Case Managers share the title of Case Managers but they are Hospice Nurses. They perform the tasks of case management to some degree because the agencies of which they work want to justify them doing the extra work of both a bedside nurse and that of a transition coordinator by calling them Case Managers. But I digress, the OP's post reads like she/he is looking to get away from direct bedside care and she/he will not do that as a Hospice Nurse. On the other hand, if the OP finds a case management job similar to the positions of those of us that frequent this forum, then she/he will not be providing direct bedside patient care.

Specializes in ER.
the OP's post reads like she/he is looking to get away from direct bedside care and she/he will not do that as a Hospice Nurse. On the other hand, if the OP finds a case management job similar to the positions of those of us that frequent this forum, then she/he will not be providing direct bedside patient care.

thanks for your comments, I did mention however that I am not seeking cm just to get away from bedside, but yes I will be true and honest I had enough of bedside nursing and I do want regular hours, no back breaking physical work, ability to think on my own, immense opportunity to learn, the possibilities are endless, and these are the things that yourself are enjoying right now. I mean, you left the bedside too, but I am not assuming you did this to run away from the bedside, so why are you judging and making assumption that I am? :)

According to what they say in the interview, there is not much of direct care as in terms of physical labor, but more like you assess the pt and coordinate resources in what they need. That sounds like a deal to me. Direct patient care was a good years of learning experience, but I want something different.

sunnynurse36

32 Posts

As a former hospice nurse it was a lot of work very emotional and at times back breaking.. The families and the patient will look to you for all the answers..

Jensmom7, BSN, RN

1,907 Posts

Specializes in Hospice.

Hospice are called Case Managers because Hospice is a true team effort, and the nurse is in charge of the patient care part of the team. CMS requires periodic evaluation to ensure that the patient continues to be Hospice appropriate, which is where the Case Management part comes in.

You would be doing direct patient care. Not necessarily as consistently grueling as hospital nursing, but I've put my share of Foleys in while practically standing on my head, repositioned immobile patients and done incontinent care because the patient needed to be changed and no one else was available.

Hospice nursing is wonderful, but not for traditional Case Management.

kimima01

60 Posts

Specializes in telemetry, ortho, med-surg.
Hospice Case Managers share the title of Case Managers but they are Hospice Nurses.

Ahh... I did not know this. Rearview, did you ask what the Hospice CM position you are applying for entails?

Specializes in Oncology, LDRP, Case Management.

"According to what they say in the interview, there is not much of direct care as in terms of physical labor, but more like you assess the pt and coordinate resources in what they need."

With the hospice agencies I worked for, and I can only speak to my experience, this is true. I still did direct patient care such as drawing labs, inserting a foley and dressing changes. Home health aides did bathing, adl's and those types of tasks. Most of my visits consisted of assessing the patient, communicating with doctors, coordinating resources, and providing support to the patient and/or family.

Hospice CM can be an emotionally draining job. But if you can handle it for a while (I lasted a year) I believe it provides a great transition to other CM opportunities.

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