bedside nurse vs. case management. . .daydreamin'

[thesundowner]

I'm a bedside nurse and usually love it (even with the chaos, stress, etc). Love the 3 days a week, the 12 hrs shifts, the flexibility of scheduling. . .

But. . .every once in a while. . .I start daydreaming of a "normal" job, 9-5, m-f, no weekends, no holidays. . .

A nurse I work with just got a job as a case manager - making about $15k more than me, with the m-f, 9-5 schedule. . .I wonder if I'm not being a fool to not go that route?

The grass is always greener. . .thoughts? comments?

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

every job has its advantages and disadvantages. depending on what that "case management" job entails, it could be a nice respite or a pressure-filled hell that finds you leaking past those 9-5 hours and since you're on salary, no ot.

case management by definition influences the course of care. many hospital "case managers" are only discharge planners, which is not the same thing at all; they would not be able to sit the ccm (certified case manager) exam because their jobs do not meet the criteria. a real case mgmt job can be a lot of fun, with a lot of autonomy. your rehab background would be very, very helpful in the most common case management area, worker's compensation. that's where i got into cm and i really loved the autonomy, independence, and the way my skills were really appreciated by nonmedical people.

consider hooking up with your local chapter of the case management society of america, cmsa-- you can find them online at case management society of america > home and look for the link to your local chapter. do a little networking, chat a bit, see if it sounds like what you'd enjoy. most cm jobs never get posted because they so often are filled by referrals from current employees, so make some friends.