Anyone ever work for Optum???..

jadednurse · Oct 18, 2003

Bump.

I'm curious to see the responses too!

patj2810 · Feb 1, 2005

I worked for Optum for 2 yrs. and left... very lg call volume and very structured, you have specific times to take your breaks. Not always when you feel you may need one.. All in all not a bad place to work.

sflohaug · Feb 1, 2005

Hi Olivia

I read your post and wanted to ask more about Optum. I am an experienced telephone triage nurse looking to work from home. I am located in California and wondered if the "nurse line positions" are available throughout the US?

I would appreciate any information you know or could link me to learn more about Optum

Thank you for your time and help!

Sincerely,

Sharon in Sacramento, CA

bellcollector · Feb 27, 2005

Ilovesnoopy, I do not work in telephone triage though it does sound interesting. My philosopy is that it never hurts to try. Even if they are sticklers for the 5yr thing you will get your name out there. I say try for it you will never know unless you try. Good Luck

rntx · Apr 21, 2005

I worked for Optum for 2 yrs. and left... very lg call volume and very structured, you have specific times to take your breaks. Not always when you feel you may need one.. All in all not a bad place to work.

Yes, they are very structured. I have friends that work there in nurseline and other departments. Some like it a lot and others are tolerating it. Even if you don't have the 5 years, I would try anyway. Good luck!

medicalsleuth · Apr 21, 2005

HI everyone,
I'm back and still on the quest to find a telephone triage position. I stumbled across a position at Optum....they are hiring rn's for their "nurseline"...and the position nearest to me is offering a "work at home" opportunity. I'm just wondering if anyone has worked for them...and if so, did they enjoy it? It truly sounds like my dream job...although....one of their qualifications requires 5 plus years of varied clinical nursing experience. Much to my dismay, I only have roughly four years of experience in Med-Surg. only. Should I wait for another year before trying to apply for this job or do you think I should just drop my application in and see if maybe they would want me anyways???? I've only had one job out of nursing school...which was just handed to me, no interview or anything...because I did my internship there and they liked me...(sorry to brag...I've gotta do that sometimes). I just think even though I've only been a nurse for 4 years...I still have a lot to offer...I am ACLS certified, work on many projects including finding educational materials for patients and updating our discharge instructions. Plus..I work in a small rural hospital...so we don't have a seperate ped's dept.....so I do have a lot of experience with peds which was one of the varied clinical experience suggestions. So...what do you guys think...should I wait it out and try to gain different experience....or should I apply anyways because it's my dream job and I don't want to let it slip away..... The line operates 24/7 and I am a night person...so maybe that would appeal to them too.... The only down fall of the whole thing is that it does require you to work every other weekend.....ohh well..that's nursing for ya. Ok...guys...lead me in the right direction...k? Thanks for all of your knowledgable assistance.
Luv,
Olivia

I currently work for Optum... You may not recognize the company but in actuality it is a division of United Healthcare. I work in the Welcome Home/Impact Unit. I am in Texas. My job is to contact newly discharged patients and assist them with resources and help them to utilize their doctors, medications etc to stay out of the hospital.. Optum has a number of divisions: Inpatient Care Advocates- RN's who keep track of inpatients, assist with discharge planning, transfers to alternative living areas, etc. This area is where I get my list of patients from. Another area is the Predictive Model unit. This unit cold calls individuals who are showing a high dollar expense. They also assist the individual in following dr's orders, checking medications etc. Another area is Case Management: obviously when I find a patient that needs more attention then my job allows, they are referred to CM.

As for Nurseline, it is a unit that takes incoming calls from individuals who have questions about medications, procedures etc or it could be a new Mom who has a sick baby and doesn't know what to do... I have several friends that are in Nurseline. There are a lot of AARP calls. It does require 8-10 hrs of sitting with small breaks and a lunch break. If you can't sit for extended periods of time, it is not for you.

The advantage is you can work from home, but the requirements for connection are very rigid. And you do have to work every other weekend or on some schedules you get either Sat or Sun off each week. The shifts are pre-set... but there is usually one that fits your needs. You are expected to meet time restraints, and that can be difficult if you get someone that can not stay on subject...

As far as applying, what can they say but no.... and you wouldn't be any worse off. Go for it.

wincha · Dec 2, 2005

I currently work for Optum... You may not recognize the company but in actuality it is a division of United Healthcare. I work in the Welcome Home/Impact Unit. I am in Texas. My job is to contact newly discharged patients and assist them with resources and help them to utilize their doctors, medications etc to stay out of the hospital.. Optum has a number of divisions: Inpatient Care Advocates- RN's who keep track of inpatients, assist with discharge planning, transfers to alternative living areas, etc. This area is where I get my list of patients from. Another area is the Predictive Model unit. This unit cold calls individuals who are showing a high dollar expense. They also assist the individual in following dr's orders, checking medications etc. Another area is Case Management: obviously when I find a patient that needs more attention then my job allows, they are referred to CM.

which one of these above would be considered risk management?

SWRN84 · Dec 2, 2005

Welcome Home, Impact, and Predictive Model are all risk management in Optum. The other divisions, Disease management, Inpatient Care Advocate, and Longitudinal Case management are the other specialized areas. You get trained in Risk Management, then additional training for the other positions.

DBHRN · Dec 2, 2005

I too am interested. I have been a nurse for 30+ years and have done lots of triage in the ED. I am disabled and unable to nurse in the hospital situation and this sounds ideal. Can someone give me an address or tell me how they are listed. Thanks

DBHRN · Dec 2, 2005

I am an RN now disabled (unable to work in the hospital areas) but I am very interested in triage of any sort. I have 30+ yrs experience and have done numerous years of triage in the Ed. Can anyone tell me how to contact Optum. An address or website would be appreciated.

wincha · Dec 3, 2005

I am an RN now disabled (unable to work in the hospital areas) but I am very interested in triage of any sort. I have 30+ yrs experience and have done numerous years of triage in the Ed. Can anyone tell me how to contact Optum. An address or website would be appreciated.

either uhc.com or unitedhealthcare.com and look up careers. you can also search on monster.com