Earn Your ASN to Become Case Management Nurse
A case management nurse acts as the middle man between a patient, their family, and medical professionals. Typically, a case management nurse focuses on the administrative side and deals with everyone involved with the patient’s care and recovery.
The first step to becoming a case management nurse is to become a registered nurse. You could become an RN by either getting your Associate of Science in Nursing or your Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Although getting your bachelor degree may not be mandatory for this career, continuing education may be something to consider. After completing your degree program, taking the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) is necessary in order to become a registered nurse.
If you are interested in becoming eligible for a case management position, you may want to start by gaining experience as a registered nurse first. With your certification and work experience as an RN, you may be able to become a case management nurse, but if you are interested in becoming certified, you may also need to put in 2,000 or more work hours within case management. There is more than one association that manages certification, so you may want to consider researching what certification you would like. Options include the Certified Case Manager (CCM) and the Accredited Case Manager (ACM).
Employment settings can vary, but typically case management nurses could work in hospitals, private homes, long term care facilities, and rehabilitation centers. Typical tasks of a case management nurse could be working closely with doctors to put together a long term treatment plan, deciding insurance eligibility for patients, monitoring the progress of patients, requesting patient referrals and authorizations for medical procedures, and putting together the resources needed for either ongoing care or discharge.
According to payscale.com, the average case management nurse makes about $66,000 annually. Although factors such as education, certifications, geographic location, and experience may influence pay, in general those in this position could be highly satisfied with their job. Salary in the position may vary from $50,000 to $86,000 annually.
