Ever heard of CMs going BACK to bedside nursing?

A co-worker was in case management and came to work with us in out -patient surgery. It worked out okay for her.

I was a supervisor for five years when I switched to out-patient surgery. (Hint; out-patient surgery is a great, relatively easy, gig.)

It all depends on how long you did bedside nursing, what unit you worked on, prior to case management. How long you stay in case management and what type of unit you "go back" to.

OP: Yes. I went back... It is like riding a bike. You get back into it fairly quickly if you knew what you were doing as a bedside nurse and were pretty good before leaving, in my opinion. Prior to my return, I had co-workers who returned too. Many of them did so within 1 year away from bedside as a case manager. Some kept one-foot-in-the-door by holding per diem positions by bedside so their leap back was not difficult. Others were like me who swore never to return to bedside nursing, but as a case manager, I continued to work in the clinical settings of my bedside background and was still active in understanding what was going on with the patients with whom I worked. So, my return after 3 years was surprisingly smooth. However, I refreshed some of my skills, but I was able to do so in the clinical setting in which I worked. Good luck! ?

Yep. I am going back. However, I continued to pick up floor shifts on occasion to make sure I maintained confidence in my skills. I work with another CM who has been off the floor for 6 years and is looking to go back to the floor as well. The skills can be easily relearned. What is hardest to learn and comes with experiences is the clinical knowledge, and that just continues to expand in case management.

I am returning back to case management. Left my last job last juloo y to ocme back to the floor because I thought I was missing something. Turns out...I am not missing anything! Going back to case management a d I havent been gone a year. I no longet want to do bedside nursing at this time in my career.