Case management, no luck.

[Gisette]

I work full time at the bedside. I've been trying to get into case management at the hospital I work at and other hospitals for 4 months and no luck. I was just wondering where else can I look. I live in NJ.

[akanini, MSN, RN]

Have you tried Case Management at the Home Care level? I know people who do that and love it.

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

OP, when you say you tried to get into Case Management at these various hospitals, what do you mean? Most hiring mangers want Nurses with CM work experience. However, if you can talk to them and let them know of your interest and your work ethic, he/she may be willing to hire and train you. GL!

[Gisette]

OP, when you say you tried to get into Case Management at these various hospitals, what do you mean? Most hiring mangers want Nurses with CM work experience. However, if you can talk to them and let them know of your interest and your work ethic, he/she may be willing to hire and train you. GL! I tried applying to these hospitals but never recieved a call back. The position in my hospital I didn't get because they gave it to the person who was part-time. So I'm thinking if even going part-time just to get the experience.

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

OP, it sounds like the position was made for that person and was not really open to others. One facility I worked for did the same thing... They hired a PT CM to FT CM position. The position was opened up to others by HR, but no one except for the PT CM was interviewed by my Manager. Also, most PT positions are only open to CMs with experience similar to PT ICU Nursing positions at bedside, where a Nurse who has never worked ICU cannot expect to get his/her foot into the door as a PT ICU Nurse. On the other hand, if you are able to land a PT positions (maybe it is possible), then try it.

However, I think your best bet is to actually talk to the hiring managers of these positions so you are no longer one of the many nameless-faceless Nurses without CM experience trying to break into Case Management. For example, the last position posted by one of my employers received over 100 applications from bedside nurses, all of which had no CM work experience, thus your competition is stiff. GL!

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

You might also want to connect with the local chapter of the Case Management Society of America, CMSA. So much of this field is networking; meet people, learn more about the field, get your name out there. There is also a learning curve; as mbarnbsn notes, you need to have something to bring to the table. CMSA can turn you on to CEUs and courses to put on your resume. Many case management jobs I see advertised require the CCM certification; look into how to get that. (It requires 2 years as a CM to take the exam).

[Kafergie]

I am in Texas and plan to start applying for CM positions in the spring. In looking at job listings, it seems like there are lots of position with major insurance carriers like United and Humana. You may want to look that direction. Good luck!

[InformaticsRN.MA]

Are you able to work per diem? That is how I broke into the field. My hospital was so short-staffed for case management that I was able to pretty much pick my own hours once I was done with orientation. I worked 2-3 days a week and it was perfect, since I was getting my Master's degree in Healthcare Informatics and a full-time student. I could have worked 4 or 5 days a week if I had wanted to. I had benefits through my school, so didn't have to worry about that.