Are all Vocational Case Management Companies Alike?

That is a statement I have heard on several occasions when speaking with a potential client as to the advantages when working with the CompAlliance Vocational Department. They frequently do not believe there is a good reason to consider working with a new company. I hope in providing the story below, I will have provided a reason to evaluate the effectiveness of your current provider.

A file was referred for file review regarding vocational status and progress towards job placement performed by another vocational placement company.

The other placement company was estimating a wage potential of $13 – $16 per hour. After review of the records provided it was the CompAlliance vocational expert’s opinion that this wage potential was potentially an underestimation as the Recovering Worker (RW) has skills as a Registered Nurse and should be able to qualify for Nurse Case Management and Telephonic Nurse Case Management type positions.

A Comprehensive Initial Assessment is Key

The other company recommended a focus on attaining keyboarding skills, which while not appropriate, could also be worked on simultaneously to an intensive job search withing the RW’s stated functional capabilities. It was noted an update or completion of a resume was not initiated.

As noted in the initial evaluation report, the RW has a work history to include several different jobs. This would be indicative of her ability to interview effectively and effectively obtain employment. In addition, as a General Duty Nurse, it is likely she did have to participate in perhaps a relatively significant amount of data entry.

Recommendations upon Completion of File Review

  1. If there is a resume, this needs to be updated immediately for use in the job search.
  2. An email account should be set-up exclusively for the job search process in order to review emails being provided by outside employers in response to job inquiries and ensuring the RW follows up on those emails in a timely and appropriate fashion. The email account should also be accessed to provide the RW with ongoing job leads for follow-up. It is not clear if this is planned as a part of the other company’s placement process.
  3. Follow-up should be completed on applications and resumes submitted, as well as interviews, to ensure the RW is complying with expectations.
  4. The RW should be completing detailed, ongoing, daily employer contact logs that can be reviewed and follow-up initiated with the employers in order to continue to ensure an interview would be secured.

Following this review, the file was transferred to CompAlliance for completion of further Vocational Assessment. Upon completion of the Comprehensive Initial Assessment, it was determined through self-report, the RW has extensive office and computer skills and can use Microsoft Office with ease, estimating her typing skills at 60 wpm. The RW was noted to have a bachelor’s degree in nursing and would qualify for numerous nursing positions.

Shared Decision Making is Essential to Success

Upon completion of this assessment, it was determined the RW, through self-report has an interest in remaining in the healthcare industry, versus exploring the lower wage positions recommended by the other vocational company.

As a result, our Vocational Expert was able to provide an objective argument against the vocational actions recommended by the other company, and thereby increasing this RW’s potential to return to a position within the RW’s interests and at a potentially higher wage.