case mgt or floor rn????????

Go to this site:

http://www.salarywizard.com

renerian

According to salary.com a case manager makes approx $56,443 (median salary) with starting wages around $51,000. That's going to vary a lot depending on where you are. The wages for a Staff RN are about $48,000 median salary. I think their (salary.com) numbers for staff nurse are a little low but remember a median is almost the same thing as an average. Don't forget to factor in things like Benefits. How much will it cost you for medical insurance premiums? What kind of a 401K plan do they have? etc . . .

I am a comp case manager. I am in the mid to upper 50's salary and I can bonus every month. I have great benes that are very cheap in comparison to what I was paying at the hospital. I have a 401k that I was able to contribute to my first pay check. After 1 year I will also start building a company funded pension plus they will match my 401k up to 6% of my wages. The more seasoned CMs for my company make upwards to 70-75 before bonus.

Erin

Originally posted by Erin RN

I am a comp case manager. I am in the mid to upper 50's salary and I can bonus every month. I have great benes that are very cheap in comparison to what I was paying at the hospital. I have a 401k that I was able to contribute to my first pay check. After 1 year I will also start building a company funded pension plus they will match my 401k up to 6% of my wages. The more seasoned CMs for my company make upwards to 70-75 before bonus.

Erin

Wow! What do you have to do to get a bonus every month?

The billing part is probably the most confusing part of the whole job but here goes. The avg work comp CM has between 25-30 files that she/ he are case managing. According to WA state law a report as to what is going on has to be submitted evey 30 days to the TPA or the employer. When the report is submitted a billing sheet is also submitted for everything and i mean everything you have done on the file between the reports..every tasked it billed in 6 min increments ie: .1 = 6min. My company requires that a CM bill out 7.5 hours per working day of each month which gives me my quota that is actually 95% productivity since the job is 8 hours a day. A phone call is usually billed at .3 a fax at .2 ..when I am at my desk I can be on the phone and faxing at the same time..when I am traveling to an appt I am getting paid to travel plus I can be making phone calls while I am waiting in an MD appt for a half hour I can bill for my wait plus find a little corner to make calls or work on the computer so essentially I am doing double work. My salary is paid based on the 95% anyting over that I get paid an hourly flat rate of 25/ hr. CM is not for the faint of heart though I am not always popular and I do have to go head to head with other professionals at times..I am relatively new at this so I am just starting grow some you know whats. I always make sure that the IW gets everything they need to recover however, I also have to do UR and make sure nothing is going on that they do not need or that is not working..much of that is easy there are specific states guidelines for each discipline unfortunatly many providers are not familiar with the system so I have to be. For example over the life of a claim 6 ESI's can be given (Epidural steroid injections) I recently had someone who wanted to have one monthly..not covered. MDs that do Comp also get information they have to use..there are specific criteria which must be met in order for a worker to undergo a fusion fro example.. It is totally non clinical but I use my nursing knowledge and the interpersonal skills I developed as an RN daily..I enjoy working from home and my car. I usually do reports at 5 am then get my kids up and ready to go to school then I start sending out updates etc..go to my appts..if I have errands to run, I do that come home do a report or two, check messages, start dinner, the kids come home and I take a little bit off to help with home work then I finish my day before my husband gets home and we eat. Occasionally I have to work after dinner but it is becasue I decided during the course of the day that is what I was going to do. The flexibility and autonomy is awesome..my boss is 300 miles away and I usually talk to him a couple of times a week. I relly like it, think the biggest barier for some is procrastination and not staying motivated...Erin

ERIN: cool. I am seriously looking into CM. I have 4yrs exp in CM for home health. I have spent the last year attempting to start a home based private duty nursing service and also do some independent contracting for LTC ins. co's, re: benefits assessments, pt visits,contacting providers, making recomendations to pt etc. However these assignments are few and far between. I did submit my resume to Concentra on-line and am about to fax a resume in response to ad placed from a co called Bradley Consulting for CM work from home. Can you offer any advice?

Nurse T

I sent you a PM>>>:)

Besides the PM I sent you..I think the best advice for both your resume and when you interview is to really play up your past home health and the fact that you know how to bill for visits etc..also focus on your autonomy and the fact that your are a self starter, goal oriented and remain motivated..many RNs I know are great nurses and many would be good case managers if they had a boss looking over them all day but many of friends just wouldn't be able to do the autonomous thing so it would not be a good match. Having that much autonomy does not work for everyone..plus when you work at home you have to be able to put boundaries in place so that home and work don't become one..isn't good for the family otherwise...Erin