How much experience do nurses need in order to become a Case Manager?

Specialties Case Management

Published

Hello

I'm interested in becoming a Case Manager one day. I don't have any clinical experience so far, since hospitals in California are really hard to get hired. The only place that hire me was a home health agency, which only gave me one day of orientation. I did not felt safe and felt that I was putting my patients and license in danger, so I quit. Since then I have not been able to find anything. Therefore, I decided to go back to school and get my BSN. Which I will be finishing early 2016. I was wondering if I would be considered for a position as a Case Manager without any clinical experience. I was in the verge to quit nursing due to not being able to get a job due to my lack of experience. Case management is my only hope since I don't want to do bedside care. If not I will have to leave nursing and find a new career. I would appreciate any inputs. Thank you!!

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Specializes in Utilization Review, Critical Care, OR, SNF.

Most nursing jobs requires clinical experience. If that doesn't interest you, rather than getting a BSN, why don't you consider an alternate path? My company requires RN case managers to have at least 5 years of clinical experience, preferably broad. Most of my peers actually have closer to 15 years "on the floor". I have a friend who works as a research nurse--her job required pretty much the same clinical time. Not trying to burst your bubble here, but clinical time is the foundation...well, of nursing.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Some type of boot on the ground bedside care is needed for nearly any specialized role in nursing. What about an ambulatory care/ clinic type setting? You're going to have to care for someone at some time to get into other roles.

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Working in a clinic has been one of my dreams. But in order to get a clinic job I need at least a year of hospital experience. The job market is really bad in California. I been applying to hospitals, clinics, spas, snfs, so far I have no luck. I really need money to help my family. Therefore, my only option is to work in a non medical job and do volunteering in a hospital, to start having open doors. Do you think is a good idea?

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
Therefore, my only option is to work in a non medical job and do volunteering in a hospital, to start having open doors. Do you think is a good idea?

My employer and former employers require 3 years (it used to be 2) of clinical work experience and a BSN to be considered for an entry level case management position. The reason being, we actually have to call upon our knowledge that we gained clinically working as nurses to understand and implement the medical and nursing model that allows us to connect patients to and arrange for appropriate resources. Also, much of the skills we learned to include the art of talking to and influencing others involved with the medical course of treatment for patients is essential as well. You do not learn much in school because there is not enough time.

Should you work a non-medical job to support your family? Absolutely! I am of the school that financial survival is number #1 priority. #low priority are your dreams (or whatever you want to call them) while in survival mode.

By the way, as you work outside of nursing, there is no rule that says you cannot continue to apply for nursing positions. Your best bet, especially in a saturated New grad market, is to network rather than just apply for jobs. Also ..... if you can .... move to a more friendly area for New Grads.

Your options may take you out of state or within the State of California. Either case, you may need to work in the middle of nowhere, in a small rural town that is not located on any maps (see desert towns), and for a hospital that no one has ever heard of, but is valuable in boosting one's New Grad resume ...... ;)

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My employer and former employers require 3 years (it used to be 2) of clinical work experience and a BSN to be considered for an entry level case management position. The reason being, we actually have to call upon our knowledge that we gained clinically working as nurses to understand and implement the medical and nursing model that allows us to connect patients to and arrange for appropriate resources. Also, much of the skills we learned to include the art of talking to and influencing others involved with the medical course of treatment for patients is essential as well. You do not learn much in school because there is not enough time.

Should you work a non-medical job to support your family? Absolutely! I am of the school that financial survival is number #1 priority. #low priority are your dreams (or whatever you want to call them) while in survival mode.

By the way, as you work outside of nursing, there is no rule that says you cannot continue to apply for nursing positions. Your best bet, especially in a saturated New grad market, is to network rather than just apply for jobs. Also ..... if you can .... move to a more friendly area for New Grads.

Your options may take you out of state or within the State of California. Either case, you may need to work in the middle of nowhere, in a small rural town that is not located on any maps (see desert towns), and for a hospital that no one has ever heard of, but is valuable in boosting one's New Grad resume ...... ;)

Thank you for having the time in answering my question. Thank you for the feed back, I really appreciate all your input. Yes, I already started looking into non-nursing jobs to help my family financially. I will not stop applying to nursing jobs either, I sometimes feel so overwhelmed that makes feel to give up nursing. I only been finding close doors since I finished nursing school and being able to achieve my dreams one day seems impossible. Once again thank you for your time.

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Hi,

I am a new grad as well. Graduated with Associates in December. I have been working in case management since. I was offered employment a few weeks after school. I self taught myself Interqual and Milliman criteria. I placed it on my resume and work for one of the best hospitals in NYC. I was able to get the book from a coworker at the hospital I worked at.

California's market may be a little different than NYC's, but search indeed with term "new grad". See if any hospitals are doing residencies. Or perhaps for a nursing home to work at. Anywhere is better than volunteering in non-healthcare positions. Why don't you go coordinate an internship at a nursing home of small community hospital. That way you can at least have the direct care experience.

I am doing my BSN now and graduating soon. I plan to work at a nursing home on the weekends after I finish to gain the experience I need for direct patient care and then apply for hospital jobs at my employer.

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Specializes in Adult Med-Surg Tele/Rehabilitation/Wound Care.

Hi lauramswrn, what book is it that you were able to self teach...I need to get!

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Just out of curiosity, why did you go to nursing school if you weren't interested in bedside care? What is it that you saw yourself doing with with a degree in nursing if you weren't willing to actually work as a nurse? This question isn't meant to be rude at all, I'm just curious what took you down that route if it doesn't seem like you want to actually do it.

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