I feel that the LPN team is one of the most neglected and marginalized groups in the company and it’s really disheartening. First of all, the pay is not at all competitive. At time of writing, the hourly rate is $18.75. The LPNs are segregated away from the RNs into the call center department, even though most of their duties are very similar to what RNs do or are closely related to what the RNs do. As part of the call center (intake) department, the LPN leadership comes from the call center. I know the leads and supervisor are working so hard to help and support the LPNs, but they have very limited medical knowledge and do not fully understand what the LPNs do nor do they understand the LPN’s needs. If the LPNs have questions about the cases that are being reviewed, they have to reach out to the RN leadership for help. The assistance from the RN leadership is hugely appreciated, however their priority is the needs of the RNs (understandably), so there are times that the LPNs have to wait an extended amount of time until our questions get answered. Since the LPNs are not supported with clinical leadership, they are out of the loop on updated guidance when it comes to clinical reviews. They receive no feedback on the quality of their clinical reviews. In addition to doing clinical reviews on what the company views as the lowest risk pre-auth requests and making outreach calls for those requests, the LPNs are tasked with making outreach calls on behalf of the RNs and explain things to providers that the LPNs have not been trained on and are not familiar with. The LPNs are often ignored when they offer ideas on how to make processes more efficient. There was a non-medical project manager that formerly was very instrumental in empowering the LPNs in their position, but she has inexplicably turned on the LPNs and works against them in seemingly any way possible which is saddening.
