[502Nurse]

Hi all,
I've seen a lot of great info for getting into case management on this site. I am a fairly new nurse who is interested in persuing case management at some point and wanted to know just how much direct nursing experience is needed for this field, and in what areas. I did a short stint in med surge and am now in rehab/LTC. I had home health experience in nursing school, but was never employed in that area. Can you get certified with CE in lieu of a longer time spent working as a floor nurse? Is there such a thing as on the job training for Case Managers? I have a BA and a BSN as well as several years of corporate work experience if this makes a difference.

[renerian]

Do you mean managed care case manager or home health case manager? Wondered so I can give you the information your looking for.

renerian

[502Nurse]

Told you I was a newbie...I'm not even sure of all the areas you can work in case mgmt! At this point I think I'd be interested in learning which one would be more likely to hire someone newer to the field ie. without having had years of med/surge exp.

[renerian]

Lets see you could do home health case management which includes some hands on care and care coordination. Usually do not need to be certified for that care. Need some general acute care experience to expand on your skills unless you get into a good preceptor program. For case management in the insurance or managed care entity certification is good and usually required. No patient care but care coordination and lots of phone time. Which one sounds more interesting?

renerian

[502Nurse]

Renerian: you are a wealth of information! How much general acute care exp is needed for a good skills base in case mgmt? Do many places offer preceptorship programs? That sounds interesting to me. Did you get your certification? What is involved in that - is it independent study, an online program or experience in the field?

[LasVegasRN]

Here is a thread that addresses most of your questions:

http://allnurses.com/forums/showthre...threadid=23356

[renerian]

I did not take the certification as I worked in home health 11 years. Some home health companies have preceptor programs which range from 6 months to one year for home health. I did HEDIS data collection by contract for three years for insurance companies/credentialing firms and I did not need to be certified for that.

renerian

[LasVegasRN]

Should also add you cannot get certified as a case manager or sit for the exam unless you have functioned or work in an environment where case management is performed. You'll want to check the website for case management certification. Most employers will hire you with the understanding that you will sit for the exam after a year. Some will even pay for your certification.

[ceecel.dee]

How close is Discharge Planner to this?

[ryaninmtv]

Discharge planner, in my experience, is close but not quite in the ball park as far as CCM exam qualification is concerned. There are a number of functions discharge planners do that are similar with case management. Outplacement (rehab, subacute, long-term care, etc.) are areas that overlap. On some levels, there may be coordination of care such as follow-up with specialists and the like. Vegas has proven to be the CM guru. I will defer to her at this point.