Case Manager Nurse Job Description – Salary, Education, and Career Guide for Becoming a Case Manager Nurse

If you enjoy working as a registered nurse but would like more control in terms of patient care and overall policy, you may want to consider becoming a case manager nurse.
 
Case manager nurses focus on managing all areas of patient care and services for their assigned cases. This means that you, in coordination with the patient's entire healthcare team, make the decisions that affect the lives of patients and families. Case manager nurses have a great amount of responsibility, but with this responsibility comes the reward of seeing your policies put into action to help others receive the best medical care possible.

Job Description

The main task of a case manager nurse is to coordinate long-term care and therapy of patients in order to provide optimal treatment. Case manager nurses are specialists who usually focus on one particular area, such as oncology or AIDS.
 
If you become a nurse case manager, here are some of the tasks you will be expected to perform:
  • Arrange for additional services as needed for the purpose of a positive outcome for the patient.
 
  • Assess and monitor patients.
 
  • Assess patients’ care and treatment plans to determinewhether the patient's medical needs are being met.
 
  • Determine a patient's eligibility for treatment. This may involve finding what the patient's insurance will cover, the cost-effectiveness of the procedure or treatment being considered and whether the patient will benefit from that particular clinical pathway.
 
Case management nurses work closely with a patient's entire healthcare team to make sure that patient is receiving the best possible care available to them. A case manager nurse must ensure that patient care at all levels is appropriate and cost effective.

Salary Guide

If you obtain your case management nursing certificate, you can expect to earn a salary in the range of $50,000 to $70,000. The average salary fir a case manager nurse is about $60,000 a year.

Education and Training

Although a four-year Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) is the minimum requirement to become a case manager nurse, most employers prefer a Master's degree in Nursing. While a certification in case management is not necessary, it may help you gain a competitive edge when applying for case manager nurse positions.
 
Taking case management certification classes to earn your degree displays dedication to your profession and a desire to continue learning. Enrolling in case management classes online is a great way to juggle education with a hectic work schedule. Case manager nursing classes online are also widely available, and a great way to earn your degree while simultaneously working.

Prior Work Experience

Case managers need experience working as a registered nurse in critical care. It may also benefit an aspiring nurse case manager to work in a highly specialized field, such as geriatrics. Since nurse case managers often deal with insurance companies, experience with Medicare, HMOs and other forms of insurance can make you a desirable candidate.

Career Advancement

Since nurses are expected to be in increasingly higher demand over the next ten years, experience in case management can only widen your field of career choices. Nurse case managers often move into administrative, management and director-level positions. Advancement into access management – the field that determines how to serve patients best as they make their way through acute care - also is possible. If you stay in the field of case management as a nurse, it is likely that your salary and responsibilities will increase over time.

Related Associations and Groups

  • American Academy of Case Management
  • American Case Management Association
  • Case Management Resource Guide
  • Case Management Society of America
  • Center for Case Management
  • Commission for Case Management Certification
 
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