Wants to Land a Case Management Job

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

How do I quantify years of nursing experience on my resume'. I am 49 years old and looking to work for insurance companies as a case manager and hope my dual degrees will be a benefit. Do I say 13 years as a nurse or 9 or 10 years?

My RN experience is in rehabilitation, school nursing, and home health as RN/PTA. I have been a BSN for 13 years and license physical therapist assistant (PTA) 26 years. I have not worked as an RN full-time for 6 years, but have worked prn as a private duty nurse infrequently 4-5 years with post anesthesia surgical patients after released from day surgery.

I have worked as a PTA in home health regularly 6 years and even though my role is not as a nurse, I have alerted nursing to nursing related issues to keep my skills intact. And called doctor offices for BPs out of range per protocol. Please help me as I answer questions on RN experience. I have had the questioned on employment databases of nursing experience posted. Can I can state/type 13 year experience? I have stated 8-9 years experience in one interview and did not get the job.

Dear Wants Case Manager Job,

When asked how long you've been an RN, the answer is 13 years, since you earned your BSN 13 yrs ago. Then list each job with job title and dates of employment. The employer will see for themselves that your work history includes both RN roles and PTA roles.

The reason you did not get the job is not that you answered "8-9 years experience". It's more likely that your experience and skills did not match the experience and skills required for the job. They may be looking for a candidate with more recent nursing experience, and working as a PTA does not meet that requirement.

Focus on the skills you have that match the skills needed to be a case manager.

Taking B/Ps and mobilizing patients, for example, are not required skills, but excellent communications skills and interpersonal skills are.

Case managers for insurance companies coordinate services and manage a caseload of patients. To get a better idea of what case managers do, read Melissa Mills' informative article on "Work from Home: Case Management"

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!

[BlueeyesRN]

Nurse Beth,

Thank you for the response and the link to Melissa Mills Case Management article. I was hoping that my experience would be an enhancement especially to case management where familiarity to Medicare, HHC, SNF, and a deeper understanding of geriatric related conditions would be of benefit.

I truly appreciate your advice!