Case Management Focus: Replacing Ourselves

Sarasota, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) -- Nurse Case Managers are in demand! One of the most important things all professionals need to remember is how they will replace themselves. The generation that started case management in the late 1980s and early 1990s is retiring and taking the knowledge and passion of the practice with them. I am sure you have heard that since COVID-19, all healthcare professionals have faced a workforce shortage. With retirement and burnout, nurse case managers must find innovative ways to replace themselves.

This article is a call to nurses and other professionals to use their voices to reach out to the next generation of nurses about case management and how they can enter the field when they are ready to move from the bedside.

Many nurses want to move into areas that allow them to use their skills and expertise but need to know how or where to look for answers. How do they get the break that will enable them to move into new areas? Helping nurses realize their potential and make changes in their careers is essential. Much of what we hear about burnout comes from the frustration of not knowing how to move into work settings that will allow you to grow and feel that you have a purpose.  

All nurses can participate in helping people know when and how to make a move, get an opportunity to work in a new setting and learn these areas.

Here are some tips that you can consider:

1. Be positive about your work.
2. Talk to people about what you do.
3. Bring new nurses into the practice of case management.
4. Be a mentor to nurses who would like to get into the practice of workers' compensation.
5. Share information with them about case management professional organizations.
6. Point them to journal articles on worker's compensation case management.
7. Provide recommendation letters to those you feel would be good workers' compensation nurse case managers.

I am currently working with a colleague to develop a course for nurses who want to enter the area of workers' compensation and patient advocacy. These courses are in development and will be tools for nurses at the bedside who wish to move into independent practice. In the meantime, here is a link to read a book I write that is meant to give you ideas that will have you move beyond the bedside https://anne-llewellyn.s3.amazonaws.com/Nurses%2C+Moving+Beyond+the+Bedside.pdf

These are exciting times for healthcare professionals as the industry rolls out innovative technologies and advances in treatment for many disease states. Nurses are essential to the success of these advances, so spread the word to those you know in high schools and colleges who are looking for satisfying work. Help them find NURSING!

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