pay cut? schedule?

Awww ... I know how you must feel! Yes, I started as a Staff RN and moved into Case Management. I took an even bigger pay cut then you are describing ($6/hour less base pay with NO weekend and NO after hour differentials). Also, I too went from 12 hour shifts to 8 hours shifts 5 days per week. The good news, after my first year of working as a CM (it was a hard year), I was offered more money as a Case Manager then I was ever offered as a Staff RN.

The reason being, I gained a very good reputation as a Case Manager that can get-stuff-done and I was hunted by several recruiters from other facilities and offered a position that not only paid more, but gave me better hours plus differentials. I am still working 8 hour shifts, but I am working the schedule I made up to work for me and my family where I take off during the week every week.

BTW, there are 12 hour shifts out there for CMs. The ones I have seen are ED CM positions and they usually require weekends and shifts that others may not want to work (I love working weekends and nights and hate M-F 8-5, so I have no problem with this). In any case, good luck!

Just wondering for those of you that first had a job "on the floor" or more direct patient care before you took your case management position, did you have to take a pay cut? also how did your hours changed? I recently interviewed for a case management job at the current hospital I work for but I will unfortunately have to take a $3/hr pay cut . I am still waiting to hear back but the interview went very well so I am hopeful. Also, the job would be 4 or 5 8hr days, do any of you work less days, but longer hours more like the traditional 12hr shift?

I am just seeing your response, I ended up taking the job! It's for 4 8hr shifts per wk. I am sad about the paycut but extremely excited about the job. I just wish the case management job could also be union as well so tht way the pay could be the same. How long we're you a staff rn before you became a case manager? I have been at my job two yrs. you definitely give me hope seeing that you eventually got a higher paying job. How did you have access to a scout though?? Are you still working in the hospital setting?

Officially I took a $1/hr pay cut when I moved from acute care to home health case management. However, just over a year later, my rate is already more than my hospital job and I've always brought home significantly more money in this job than I ever did in the hospital. My benefits are WAY cheaper (like health insurance is less than 1/3 the price it was at my hospital job) and with my mileage reimbursement, I essentially don't pay anything for benefits.

My schedule is Mon-Fri 8A-4:30P. I never thought I would want a Mon-Fri but now that I have it, I can't imagine ever going back. I have time for myself every day, 3AM is not a part of my life anymore and I can do things with my friends... none of my friends (except one) are nurses so it's really nice to have the same schedule as them.

Grateful-glad you decided to take the offer. First you will enjoy the new experience, very rewarding to be able to coordinate everything that you never thought you would as a nurse. I love learning about the insurance aspect that I never know as a bedside nurse. I was a bedside RN for 6 years, so the 8hrs no weekends schedule fit my personal schedule with children. I was able to do tons of stuff with my kids on the weekend and take them to practice during the weekday. I was lucky, had 5% raise but still did not make up for the shift differential. Like MBARNBSN mentioned, eventually you will get pay more as CM w/o having to work shift diff. I am making really good money w/o leaving home...potential to work from home as well. If you haven't got your BSN, my recommendation is to further your education and get your CCM will help you in the future. During my years of CM, I went back to get my BSN (not hard at all) and got my CCM. Also, another skill you will learn that is soooooooooooooooo beneficial in the job market is utilization review (potential to work from home as well). I know for a fact that my hospital has 12hr shift in the ED.

thanks guys so much for sharing i appreciate it!! yes so far I really really love this job. I love the rns and social workers in the department and i absolutely love my boss. i have never in my life had a boss that was so family oriented and understanding. she actuall told sat me down and told me my family comes first i was blown away. i mean of course we already know our families come first but how many of us actually have bosses that acknowledge that?!? i am learning the utilization review part first which i can honestly say i had no idea what UR really was a wk ago and today i just wrote my very first review using the interqual system and it actually matched the case manager's "real" review pretty well, much better then i thought. dont get me wrong i still have a WHOLLLEEEEEEEEEE lot to learn but im grasping the concepts much faster then i used to.honestly the only reason i would leave this job is for more money as you said or to be able to work from home with my son. I must say though I definitely have to get adjusted to working four days a wk though. (32hrs) i did not want to work five days a wk yet since my son is only one. however, now i am having other issues i actually am orienting at another very small hospital in labor and delivery to work one twelve hr shift a wk (so essentially between the two jobs i am working 5 days a wk). now i have 3 yrs of postpartum and nursery experience so im not new to OB but i am definitely new to labor and delivery. anyway i oriented for 6wks in labor and delivery almost full time but for the most part even though i am only hired for one day per wk but the hospital is just so small i feel like im never going to be able to be off of orientation. For instance, in the six wks i orientent to l&d and the 2wks i oriented to post partum, there were only 3 c-sections that i was able to witness even though like i said i was pretty much there full time. i took this job because i am still fairly a new nurse (graduated 4yrs ago) and i did not want to move out of bedside nursing all together so soon and my career and i do really love OB. anyway, now that i took the case management job (which my manager there waited 8wks for me to go through orientation and the l&d job after IMPLORING that i really did want the CM job i just said yes to the l&d job first and i didnt want to leave them high and dry after i already said i would take the job) four days a wk, i pretty much have to leave my other 3days open to be available for orientation at the l&d job leaving me no break. sorry this is so long but i really need advice on what to do. i do not mind working everyday for a few wks until i can get my LandD orientation done and i do feel comfortable monitoring a pt during their labor as long as i have another nurse doing the lady partsl exams and there if i need to ask a question, but my concern is when in the world am i going to be able to see a c-section and also i havent really ran the actual delivery part i have always had another nurse leading the delivery. And the worst part about it is they have called me off or put me on call on orientation until a labor patient comes in because they dont get patients everyday that are in labor. i just feel like im going to be on orientation there forever and i feel trapped and overwhelmed. i am actually a little upset she even hired me to work one day a wk knowing i didnt have any labor experience being that the census is just so low. If I had known any better during the interview I would have opted to go to a bigger teaching hospital so that I could really get my experiences in. Also, L&D is just soo much responsibility i just hate that part. i literally say a prayer of thanks every time the baby is born so that way i can do what im comfortable with: postpartum lol.

so basically i need advice on what to do. How long should i ride this out before i voice my concerns to the nurse manager in L&D and possibly quit? from a financial stand point for me if i just picked up one 12hr shift a month at some place I would be ok. so i was thinking of maybe just doing per diem mother/baby. She is kind of tough and a bit intimidating but at the same time the unit kind of has a high turn over of nurses so i'm sure she is kind of used to pple coming to her with these concerns. also as a side note, she said originally said that my entire orientation would probably only be 6wks.

sorry again so long and for all the typos i took my contacts off for the night lol

Although some of us have L&D experience, the best place to ask your questions probably should include L&D forum Ob/Gyn Nursing . I think those nurses may be able to give you more support that you will need located in your last post.

As for a general question of two jobs, where one is 32 hours and the other is 12 does not seem like a huge problem to me except that the second job is not properly supporting you during orientation. I have two jobs as well, but the second job is neither needed for me and my family to exist financially and it is not a job I needed much orientation since I already worked there prior to accepting a PT position. Thus, my suggestion is that if you want a second job, maybe find one that is similar to your prior clinical background or another CM job. Good luck.

Hey thanks for the response, I will post it on the maternity page thnx for the suggestion! Yes honestly I could prob use an extra 12hr shift per month to save a little more but I most certainly don't need to work An extra 12hrs a wk, which is another problem lol, I kinda feel like I took on too much n now I'm stuck