How to Stop Burning Out Your Care Managers (And Save $61k Per Nurse)

The Real Cause of Burnout

Right now, over half of nurses are feeling burned out every single day. They aren't leaving because they don't care about patients—they're leaving because they've become highly paid data entry clerks.

When a care manager spends 40% of their shift fighting with software and then has to finish their notes at 9 PM after the kids are in bed, they start looking for the exit. This "Pajama Time" is a $61,000 problem every time a nurse walks out the door.

If you want to stop the turnover, you have to stop the busywork.

Here are three ways to fix your workflow and give your nurses their lives back:

1. Death by Documentation

Care managers are suffering from "cognitive attrition." They spend the day on the phone with patients, frantically typing notes, battling clunky EHRs, and trying to decipher payer portals.

This leads to the dreaded "Pajama Time"—the hours spent finishing documentation after the kids have gone to bed. It blurs the line between work and home until it disappears entirely (NurseCECentral, 2024).

The Fix:

In 2025, the standard is "ambient listening." You use a tool that listens to the patient call (with consent), transcribes it, and automatically generates the clinical note. It extracts the tasks—like medication refills or appointments—so the nurse doesn't have to rely on sticky notes.

2. Kill the 9-to-5

Care management often happens remotely, which sounds great until you realize you are "chained to the desk" in a spare bedroom. Isolation spikes, and the expectation to be online for eight straight hours grinds people down.

The Fix:

Adopt "Radical Flexibility." If the work gets done, does it matter when it gets done?

Allow for self-scheduling. Give nurses a window (e.g., 7 AM to 7 PM) and let them build their day around their life. If they need to pick up kids at 3 PM and finish charts at 6 PM, let them.

3. The "Stay Interview"

"Lack of leadership support" remains a top stressor for staff (Cross Country Healthcare, 2025). Most leaders don't know a nurse is unhappy until the resignation letter hits the inbox. By then, it's too late.

The Fix:

Conduct "Stay Interviews." Once a quarter, sit down with your team members individually. Don't ask about KPIs. Ask this:

"What is one issue in your day that I can remove this week?"

It might be a rude doctor, a slow laptop, or a confusing form. Fix the small things, and they will trust you with the big things.

Summary Checklist

Here are three things you can do by next Monday: