hellopanda

Of course! My position currently is Utilization Management/Reviewer. The job itself is like preauthorization of cases/surgical procedures. I call MD offices and hospitals for more information regarding cases to meet national guidelines and review utilization of resources if it meets medical necessity or not. I also receive calls and requests about the said cases. Other times I handle appeals at the nurses level. It can still be stressful at times even as WFH but its nice to be in your home as comfort even when things get rough. Though, it never gets to the point where you dread coming into work, its all quite manageable and a long ways away from hospital level stress. In a way, you still handle patients, just in a different way this time around. The job itself has many advancement opportunities, even management positions. I've seen my coworkers leave for higher level positions in the company or to hospitals for a case management position of some degree.

Hi Nurseynurse1116, Yes, I did take the job and have been at it for 6months now. It was an adjustment with a learning curve but I love it! It doesn’t pay as much as bedside but I’ve found that taking an extra shift or doing some overtime hours can somewhat match my old earnings. My back problems don’t bother me too much anymore, I get to spend time with my family every evening and I feel that I get time to decompress from a workday every day. Compared to working 3 12hr shifts, you only really get to decompress on your days off. Don’t get me wrong though, I do miss the 4 days off. But to be truthful, half of those days, I end up sleeping or am too tired to function - I end up staying home so it ends up fairly similar to a Mon-Fri schedule. It also doesn’t help that I worked nights so majority of the time I was awake, no one was. I suggest giving it go, I’ve found hospitals are forever hiring bedside nurses in case it doesn’t work out later on. I just thankfully found it has worked well for my well-being. Hope this helped. ☺️

Thank you for your replies. I didn't realize there'll be more to advance my career if I do dive into UM. That's mostly my worry as I don't know if I always need to be in a clinical handson environment to advance my career. I'll think about picking up shifts but I may just look into something less intense than acute care. Thank you again.

Hello all, Thanks for taking your time to view this post. I've been a nurse for 3+ years in dabbling in different unit specialties (respiratory/cardiac interventional/ICU). I've had history of back problems that gave me constant chronic pain with bedside care, along with occasional bouts of chest pain (probably from anxiety) with this massive covid surge that basically makes a regular 12hr shift feel like 36hrs. I've already searched through the forums about similar topics of leaving the bedside and etc. Would I be shooting myself on the foot if I accept a work from home utilization management position? Would I still be marketable or would I find difficulty finding jobs in the future if I do? Thank you for your advice.