By Colleen Morley, DNP, RN, CCM, CMAC, CMGT-BC, CMCN, ACM-RN, FCM, FAACM
Burnout has become an increasingly familiar part of the healthcare conversation. Professional case managers are not immune. In fact, if you think about it, the very nature of case management can create an environment where burnout thrives: increasing caseloads, complex patient needs, difficult transitions of care, administrative demands, payer barriers, staffing challenges, moral distress, competing priorities, and the expectation that case managers will somehow find solutions (quickly) when “the system” itself creates barriers.
We often respond to burnout by focusing on the individual. We encourage healthcare professionals to practice self-care, establish boundaries, become more resilient, exercise, meditate, take time off, or find better work-life balance. These strategies may be valuable, but they address only part of the problem. Burnout does not occur solely within an individual; it develops within a professional environment. That distinction raises an important question: Could belonging to a professional organization be part of the solution?
Research suggests that professional societies have an important role to play. Rinne and colleagues (2021) examined the role professional societies can have in addressing burnout and promoting well-being. Their multiphase evaluation included 17 major U.S. professional societies whose members routinely practiced in critical care environments. Importantly, representatives from all participating societies agreed that professional organizations have a responsibility to address burnout. The researchers identified six areas in which professional societies can contribute: acknowledging burnout as a problem, committing to member well-being, creating collaborations that promote well-being, educating and advocating for change, fostering innovation through research, and supporting both organizational and individual solutions.
Although this research focused on critical care professional societies, the implications extend naturally to professional case management. Case managers practice at the intersection of patients, families, providers, payers, regulations, healthcare organizations, and community resources. Many of the pressures contributing to burnout therefore cannot be solved by the individual case manager alone. Professional organizations offer something different: collective capacity.
One of the greatest benefits of belonging to a professional organization may also be one of the easiest to underestimate: connection. Case management can sometimes feel professionally isolating. A case manager may spend the day solving problems for everyone else while having relatively few opportunities to talk with colleagues who truly understand the complexity of the role. Professional organizations create communities where members can say, “This is what I am dealing with,” and discover that someone else understands. That connection matters.
Chapter meetings, conferences, educational programs, committees, online communities, mentoring relationships, volunteer opportunities, and informal conversations create opportunities to develop professional relationships outside an individual's immediate workplace. Those relationships can provide practical assistance, but they also provide something deeper: professional belonging. There is value in knowing that you are part of a community of people who understand your work. Together, we can change the narrative from “my problem” to “our issue.”
Burnout can make systemic problems feel personal. A case manager struggling with repeated authorization delays may wonder whether they simply need to become more efficient. A case manager repeatedly unable to locate appropriate community resources may feel personally responsible when a safe transition cannot be arranged. A leader facing persistent staffing challenges may begin to believe that they should somehow be able to solve the problem alone. Professional engagement changes that conversation.
Rapid changes in healthcare create another source of professional stress. Between navigating evolving regulations, reimbursement structures, Medicare and Medicaid requirements, payer policies, new models of care, technology, ethical challenges, social drivers of health, community resources, and changing expectations regarding care coordination, it’s no wonder case managers are overwhelmed. Professional organizations help translate an enormous amount of information into education that members can use. Continuing education, webinars, conferences, publications, practice resources, peer discussions, and access to subject-matter experts can help transform uncertainty into competence and confidence.
There is an important relationship between knowing where to find reliable information and feeling professionally supported. A single case manager does not have to know everything. They need to know that they are connected to a professional community that can help them find the answer. That community can also provide opportunities to mentor and be mentored, develop leadership skills, participate in advocacy, contribute to research, share innovative practices, and learn from colleagues working in different areas of the care continuum. Membership becomes more than something we possess; it becomes something in which we actively participate.
When case managers connect across organizations, settings, specialties, and geographic regions, patterns become visible. This isn't happening only at my organization. Other case managers are experiencing this. This is a larger workforce, regulatory, reimbursement, access, or healthcare-system issue. Recognizing that distinction does not eliminate the challenge, but it can change how professionals respond to it. Instead of carrying a systemic problem individually, members can begin addressing it collectively. In that way, professional identity and professional community can become important sources of support.
Burnout can also gradually change the way professionals view their work. When every day becomes a series of tasks, barriers, denials, documentation requirements, difficult conversations, and transition challenges, it becomes easy to lose sight of the larger purpose of case management. Professional organizations reconnect members with their profession. Through education, standards of practice, certification support, conferences, publications, research, networking, leadership development, mentoring, and recognition programs, organizations such as the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) remind case managers that they are not simply completing tasks within an organization. They are members of a profession.
That professional identity matters. It connects today's difficult case with the larger purpose of advocacy, coordination, resource stewardship, patient-centered care, transitions, equity, and improved outcomes. Sometimes reducing burnout is not simply about doing less. Sometimes it is about remembering why the work matters, recognizing that we do not do it alone, and finding opportunities to advocate for ourselves, our colleagues, our profession, and the people we serve.
Professional organizations cannot eliminate every source of burnout, nor should membership be presented as a substitute for meaningful organizational change. Employers remain responsible for addressing workload, staffing, workplace culture, psychological safety, leadership practices, adequate resources, and other organizational contributors to burnout. Individuals also have an important role in protecting their own health and well-being. Professional organizations represent another important part of that equation.
There is a space between the individual and the employer. That space is community. Professional organizations occupy that space in a unique way. They connect people across employers, disciplines, practice settings, career stages, and geographic regions around a shared professional identity and common purpose. They give us opportunities to learn together, advocate together, solve problems together, celebrate successes together, and perhaps most importantly, remind one another that the challenges we experience do not always have to be carried alone. Think about the time you went to a conference, meeting or networking event…chances are you left a little lighter, reinvigorated, ready to tackle the next issue, I know I do. Just this weekend, I was honored to be invited to present at the CMSA Houston/Gulf Coast Conference. The atmosphere was electric; people were thrilled to be together, they were learning, not just from the presenters, but from each other. They were supporting each other. Conversations were incredible and I returned home (even after a particularly annoying airline issue) still reinvigorated and ready to go!
For professional case managers, that connection can remind us of something easily forgotten during the hardest days of this work: You may manage your cases individually, but you do not practice this profession alone. That may be one of the most important benefits of membership we have.
Reference
Rinne, S. T., Shah, T., Anderson, E., Delgado, S., Good, V., Sederstrom, N., Sessler, C. N., Sherry, S. P., Simpson, S. Q., Collishaw, K., & Moss, M. (2021). Professional societies’ role in addressing member burnout and promoting well-being. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 18(9), 1482–1489. https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202012-1506OC
National Case Management Week begins Sunday. Next week, we RECOGNIZE the case managers who advocate, coordinate, solve problems, connect systems and help people navigate some of the most complex moments in healthcare. CMSA has a full week of education, connection and celebration planned. See what is coming: https://bit.ly/3PR89WG
Bio: Dr. Colleen Morley, DNP, RN, CCM, CMAC, CMCN, CMGT BC, ACM-RN, IQCI, FCM, FAACM is the Associate Chief Clinical Operations Officer, Care Continuum for University of Illinois Health System and the current Immediate Past President of the Case Management Society of America National Board of Directors and President Elect of CMSA Chicago. She has held positions in acute care as Director of Case Management at several acute care facilities and managed care entities in Illinois, overseeing Utilization Review, Case Management and Social Services for over 14 years; piloting quality improvement initiatives focused on readmission reduction, care coordination through better communication and population health management. Her current passion is in the area of improving health literacy. She is the recipient of the CMSA Foundation CM Practice Improvement Award (2020) and ANA Illinois Practice Improvement Award (2020) for her work in this area. Dr. Morley also received the AAMCN Managed Care Nurse Leader of the Year in 2010 and the CMSA Fellow of Case Management designation in 2022. Her 1st book, “A Practical Guide to Acute Care Case Management”, published by Blue Bayou Press was released in February, 2022. Her 2nd book, "Practical Guide to Hospital Readmission Reduction =, published by Blue Bayou Press was released in February 2024. Her 3rd book, "Practical Guide to Acute care Case Management Leadership" is in the works, targeting publication in 2025. Dr. Morley celebrates 25 years of nursing experience and 20 years in case management in 2024. Her clinical specialties include Med/Surg, Oncology and Pediatric Nursing. She received her ADN at South Suburban College in South Holland, IL; BSN at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, FL, MSN from Norwich University in Northfield, VT and her DNP at Chamberlain College of Nursing.