pay ICU vs case management

[DC2Indie2DC]

Hey All!

I am new to the forum but from what I have seen this is a great group of professionals! I am an ICU nurse with 2yrs experience. I have been encouraged to move into Case management (for family/scheduling reasons) but I'm not sure its the right move. While it sounds like an interesting area of nursing, Im a practical gal and I worry about taking a pay cut. I make about $29/hr (give or take with differentials) and I have no idea what Case managers can make (either in hospitals or insurance companies). I live in the DC area and I would love input from case managers or those that know what case managers at their institutions make. I don't want to head down a career trajectory that will send me to the poor house (I've got those student loans to consider) so I want to get a realistic picture of case management/utilization review before I even consider it.

Thanks in advance for sharing!

[careylee310]

Hi there -

Not sure which company would pay more than that for a new case manager. You might get lucky though. Also, sometimes the benefits involved with case management outweight the salary differences. For instance, if you find a company that allows you to telecommute you would be saving money in gas. They also typically have cheaper health insurance premiums. It all equals out. You have to weight the pro's vs. con's. I have been a Case Management Nurse for going on 5 years. I was a critical care nurse, but it came down too long hours and physical/mental exhaustion wasn't worth it for me. Good luck to you!

[DC2Indie2DC]

thanks Careylee,

I'm curious, how difficult was the transition from critical care to case management? Do you work for a hospital or an insurance co? Also, did you take a pay cut when you made the move?

[careylee310]

Yes, I actually took a $10,000/year paycut, but I was working agency at the time. I liked the benefits it offered. I had more time with my family, flexible in terms of going to appointments or leaving if the kids are sick, they PTO is good and you don't have to fight to get the time off. The work-from-home was an added bonus. It was the right move for me. It was a little weird making the transition. I felt like I was getting "free" money. When you are used to working 9 hours non-stop - this slow-down was a nice change. You have to make sure you are willing to give up the hands-on, that was the hardest to let go of. Good luck!