Benefits of Getting Your Case Manager Certification
Being in a hospital is emotionally draining, scary, and overwhelming for both the patient and the patient’s family.
When someone goes to the hospital, they are bombarded with piles of paperwork and oftentimes, a battery of tests, especially if the exact cause of the illness is not known at the onset.
People often choose their doctor, in part, based on his or her affiliation with a hospital. This shows how important hospital care is to people.
Some of the important things to consider when determining if a hospital is a good choice are:
- The staff
- Expertise and competence
- Diagnostic and treatment equipment
- Quality of medical and therapeutic treatments
- Personalized assessment and care.
What is a Case Manager?
Hospital administrators understand that improving the quality of the patient’s experience is essential to their bottom line.
Healthcare case managers fulfill that role by monitoring, assessing, implementing, planning, and evaluating the services and options for each patient’s treatment plan.
Becoming a Certified Case Manager (CCM) will show that you have the experience in areas of coordinating care, monitoring and designing care plans, evaluating patient progress, and tracking outcomes.
Many industries require professionals to complete continuing education credits to maintain their certifications, including the healthcare industry. A certified case manager is required to complete 80 hours of continuing education units every five years. Starting this year, 8 of those credits must be approved for ethics.
Career Advancement
If you are looking to grow in your current position or move up to another position, getting certified is a smart option.
Getting board certified is the step to take if you are looking for advancement and professional growth. The gold standard is the CCM as it shows your skills, knowledge, expertise, and ability.
Acquiring one’s CCM is a rigorous process. More employers are recognizing the value of those professionals with CCM credentials because it shows that individual’s commitment to his or her profession.
The healthcare industry is always trying to advance in terms of technology and quality of care. This creates the need for more qualified professionals to have the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to manage complex cases.
It also requires professionals to be able to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary teamwork environment.
The demand for highly qualified certified case managers will continue to grow as our elderly population increases. In addition, more cases of chronically ill patients will make it necessary for effective navigation of the healthcare system.
Pride and Professional Accomplishment
The most efficient and effective healthcare professionals are the ones who truly love what they do. Many of us have had unpleasant experiences with medical professionals who do not have a good bedside manner.
Studying to get certified and taking the necessary continuing education courses to stay certified takes time and dedication.
It gives you a mark of distinction that you have acquired the skills and expertise to provide experienced case management to both patients and the healthcare system.
Higher Pay
Generally speaking, the more qualified a person is for a job, the more money they will earn. This is true also for Certified Case Managers. The earlier you become certified, the higher pay you can expect over the course of your career.
A study conducted by the Commission for Case Manager Certification found an upward trend where certified case managers earn more than their non-certified counterparts.
In addition, the survey found that healthcare organizations recognize the important role played by the specialized training certification brings to a job.
More Patient Confidence
If you or a loved one have been in the hospital for an extended period of time, you know that sometimes a patient can feel like an item on an assembly line. Doctors of different specialties, nurses, and aides come in and out of the room all day long.
Getting conflicting updates and information is unfortunately not uncommon and can be very frustrating. This is one of the areas where the value of a Certified Case Manager comes into play. CCMs act as the patient’s project manager by coordinating all aspects of care.
In addition, patients today are more informed than previous generations and ask a lot of questions. If they don’t, they should. Being certified adds a level of professionalism and helps patients feel more comfortable in the care they receive.