Polina Obshchanska, RN, BSN, MSN Candidate (Nurse Administration), CDP Founder | Lead Utilization Management Nurse | BRN-Approved CE Provider

I came to the United States from Ukraine in 2015 with intermediate English and applied for asylum in 2016. I waited nine years for my interview.

During that wait, I did not pause. I worked as a caregiver, then a hospice aide, then a certified hospital attendant. I studied nursing while raising two children. I earned my ADN in 2020 and my BSN in 2022. I became a Hospice RN Case Manager, then transitioned into Utilization Management — and realized almost no one was teaching nurses how to make that transition clearly.

So I built Medscholaria.

Today I work full time as a Lead UM Nurse at large health plan, reviewing complex prior authorization and concurrent review cases across Commercial, Medicare, and Medi-Cal lines of business. I collaborate directly with Medical Directors on physician review cases and apply MCG criteria, Medicare Coverage Database policy, and Medi-Cal guidelines daily. I am also completing my MSN in Nurse Administration and expecting my third child.

Everything I teach at Medscholaria reflects what UM actually looks like in practice — not how it is described in a textbook.