2dogsnocats

Well, your CNA and psych tech experience won't count, but your MA in psych and social worker credentials will be important. Many hospitals want a BSN in nursing, not sure if you are a BSN graduate or not. You really need nursing experience, however. I am a case mgr, I make suggestions to MD's, anticipate a patients course of care for the hospital and after, and communicate with insurance companies regarding care and length of stay. You don't know enough as a new grad to make decisions. Try working as a nurse on a diverse unit such as telemetry where you see all kinds of cases gives you a firm knowledge base to build upon. GOOD LUCK IN YOUR CAREER!!!!

I agree with Mijourney, telemetry gives you a wide variety of experiences. I worked med/surg oncology for 6 years, then cardiac telemetry for 14 years prior to moving into care coordination. The LEAST amount of experience any nurse in my department has is about 10 years. The job description actually REQUIRES a BSN AND 5 years experience in an acute care setting.

As a new grad, I expect you will find it very difficult to break into case management. All case manager and /or care coordinator jobs require at least 5 years of clinical experience as well as a BSN, minimum. These jobs require very strong critical thinking, decision-making, and organizational skills that RN's usually develop as they gain experience in patient care. Keep your options open and expect to start out in your career gaining some clinical experience. Good luck!

Most states MANDATE that an RN is in charge; the LPN is licensed to practice ONLY WHEN SUPERVISED by an RN. Don't resent the new grad because she worked hard for that BSN, you should support her in her new role. This is not something new, and most employers are willing to offer assistance for any LPN to return to school for their RN degree. As an LPN you must be used to this; it has been this way at least for the last 25 years that I've been a nurse!!

I work as a full-time care coordinator on a telemetry unit in a hospital. A previous comment stated that it is a combination of utilization review and case management; that's close, but really it is an integration of the two. I am responsible for the daily chart review of each patient as well as discharge planning. Each patient is reviewed daily to ensure that their stay in the hospital meets insurance (government and private) guidelines for continued stay and to ensure each patient has a safe discharge plan. I implement discharge needs at home such home health or home equipment, also work closely with the social worker to arrange nursing home placements so there are no delays in discharge. The care coordinators at my hospital have between 20 and 24 patients each day. Many hospitals require a BSN for this position, ALL will require acute care experience. This job is part of the business or finance department of the hospital. I was trained for 6 weeks, and it usually takes a good year to become comfortable. There are ALOT of Medicare and insurance rules and regulations and they change often. I was a floor nurse for 20 years before accepting this job at my hospital. Many new people to this dept. think it is easy because it is a "desk" job, but it is NOT! I am busy the entire day, I have to talk with doctors and sometimes convince them that a patient can go home when they don't want to discharge; I try and find equipment and assistance for uninsured patients; I explain to my boss why it IS necessary for some people to have a week-long hospital stay; and all this on salary, not hourly, so I better be VERY organized or I will be there 12 hours a day 5 days a week! This job is interesting and rewarding in a different way from floor nursing, but it is not for everyone! By the way, did I mention that I love my job? I DO!!