I need tips to help a friend hire case managers

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

I was an RN case manager in work comp (insurance) for 5 years. I loved it. I left for a community health opportunity that has given me a chance to do outreach that I was born to do. But I never had any bad feelings about case management. The money was good, benefits great and I was treated with respect.

I've kept in touch with a few of the claims adjusters at my old job. One is now the VP of claims. They need to hire about 4 more RN case managers because business is exploding. They can't get ANYONE. The salary offered is comparable with any other day shift 9-5 nursing job. The work is not taxing and does not require travel. The person hiring says that she only gets interest from people who want extreme part time (the jobs are flex hours but full time) or from people who stipulate they won't write any letters ar do any phone work. She's at her wits end. She's offered to hire me back a million times but I'm happy as is.

I think the problem is that nursing education does not prepare you for an office setting. I has a career before nursing so managing a case load and working in an office was second nature to me. From what I'm being told, it is not a skill set that other nurses pick up quickly.

Any tips for my friend? I've told her to go to job fairs and post ads in nursing publications. It seems there are so many disgruntled hospital nurses yet no one applies for these jobs. My suspicion is that people want the kind of salary plus shift dif they are used to and the salary seems like a pay cut. But I really can't figure it out. Thanks for any and all replies.

[Euskadi1946]

I was an RN case manager in work comp (insurance) for 5 years. I loved it. I left for a community health opportunity that has given me a chance to do outreach that I was born to do. But I never had any bad feelings about case management. The money was good, benefits great and I was treated with respect.

I've kept in touch with a few of the claims adjusters at my old job. One is now the VP of claims. They need to hire about 4 more RN case managers because business is exploding. They can't get ANYONE. The salary offered is comparable with any other day shift 9-5 nursing job. The work is not taxing and does not require travel. The person hiring says that she only gets interest from people who want extreme part time (the jobs are flex hours but full time) or from people who stipulate they won't write any letters ar do any phone work. She's at her wits end. She's offered to hire me back a million times but I'm happy as is.

You don't say what state you live in. Please PM me.

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

I didn't post location because I wasn't trying to look for people, just ideas. Most boards frown upon direct recruiting and that wasn't what I was interested in. I'm trying to brainstorm why when everyone seems to be fleeing the hospital environment, my friends can't hire a few nurses for relatively low stress, well paid, M-F no W/E or holiday jobs.

I do know that people are always jealous of my community health job until they find out how much I make! There is a definite salary dip in my field, especially when you make the transition from hospital work. I now make an equivalent salary after a few years but some people can't weather that, I guess.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I'm currently an ER case manager in a hospital. I've been on this job for almost 9 months. The things that I really like about the job are the autonomy (but I had that in the ER already), the collaborative practice with the MDs, and the ability to do patient teaching. I also don't like the Utilization Review aspect of the job - sitting in front of a computer isn't my idea of fun. Could that be the problem?

[catlover314]

Another thought might be that perhaps working for an insurance company could be perceived as NOT working for the pt...Maybe the lack of applicants is a perception issue that its harder to advocate for patients when working for an insurance company. Just a thought, and don't know if its valid or not.

[Sharon]

I am working the disability management field. Are you sure the salary is not the issue? My salary is comparable to specialty care positions in the hospital and I have a M-F 8 to 5 schedule.

Of course you have to be able to quickly defend your decisions and be very comfortable with challenging all types of providers and doing the legal case prep. Usually dealing with government agencies and attorneys turns off nurses in case management roles faster than anything else. We just had an influx of RN's from the OR and Dialysis.

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

I used to work in the same place where my friend is trying to hire....I was well paid. In order to take my current community health job I took a significant paycut. I do know that the company my friend works for looks very carefully at regional salary data and is competitive. However, it is worth passing along. Thanks.

I still think a lot has to do with the nature if working in an office...it is so different than a clinical setting. Like anything else, it takes some getting used to and that takes time.