What are the best case manager qualifications and training to get ahead?

What is the best training for becoming a case manager? What types of ongoing training or certifications are necessary to be an effective case manager?

What do non-traditional career paths look like?

I am interested in becoming a Case Manager with your organization but would like to get more information as to where the job opportunities exist is Pittsburgh. Thank you for your assistance.

Justin Uwaife said: I am interested in becoming a Case Manager with your organization but would like to get more information as to where the job opportunities exist is Pittsburgh. Thank you for your assistance.

Justin, this is a job forum for people to discuss career related subjects. It's not part of any particular oragnization. First you want to do a job search. Here is one I did to help get you started:
www.indeed.com/jobs?radius=&q=Case+Manager&l=Pittsburgh%2C+PA

Click on a job listing you're interested in and you'll be directed to the original post where you will be supplied instructions on how to apply.

Host said: What is the best training for becoming a case manager? What types of ongoing training or certifications are necessary to be an effective case manager?

What do non-traditional career paths look like?

Hi Emma, I am a nurse case manager in Portland Oregon. I have been an RN for 18 years and about a year and a half ago I became interested in a job change. CM is definitely less physical work and more knowledge base, but the stress level is just as high. (Instead of being done at the end of the day like a staff RN in a hospital, you typically have report deadlines always hanging out there... not sure which is better, tell the truth!)
Salary I have found to be the same as in a hospital on day shift: about $28.00 an hour with benefits. I do enjoy the work and am now shopping for a new job in the field, in the Portland area. A CCM certification is a plus and will get you better pay and opportunities.

I agree Corinne, nursing in general just seems to be a very stressful profession no matter where you work. You just can't seem to get away from it.

Greetings!
I have been a casemanager now for some 28 years 4 of which were spent w/the Office Of State guardian. Career paths are different with regard to the type of training required. Entry level positions, generally require a minimum of a bachelors degree. Optimally, training should be ongoing throughout the course of your career. Some agaencies, particularly private ones, can provide only limited training, while others provide virtually none @ all. Learning a new job can be quite challenging, even difficult without @ least some guidelines. One of the greatest impediments to self growth in any casemanagement job is an overemphasis on paperwork to meet the federal & state reuirements of the given agency regarding patient care & delivery of services to clients. In fact in many instances, the amount of time spent documenting client services, & level of progress is inversely porportional to time spent with the clients we are hired to serve. This equation is often carried to such extremes in some agencies, that it becomes difficult, if not impossible to effectively manage the size of a given caseload. Purely in terms of numbers some case managers, including myself a few years back were required to manage, & document progress on caseloads as large as 140. This figure however, is certainly not representative of all casemanagers, who on the average can generally anticipate caseload variance of anywhere from 25-50 clients. This would of course, depend upon the type of casemanagement you choose, & the given population of clients served. To truly be effective in our delivery of servicesw/the populations we serve whether, medical, or psychiatric, we are going to have to begin to realize, that more casemanagers will be needed to effectively manage larger resident populations. Purely in terms of numbers, a facility population of 170 residents should have a minimun of 6 casemanagers, which breaks down to approximately 25-30 per caseload. Your comments?

How would this apply to the Diversion side of Case Management? Do the quals stay the same(bachelors degree)?

Hi,
I had to make a comment regarding case management work. As a case manager in the mental health arena I will say this - Do not get into this career! The job will burn you out and the pay is barely livable. The ratio of paperwork and the time actually spent with a client is 75/25. And, to keep up with everything expect to work also at home at least 3 to 4 nights or during weekends and not for a hour or two, seriously! And, with all of the back breaking work case managers do supporting their consumers, if a consumer makes even a simple complaint there is a recipient rights investigation and everything you might have said, did, or forgot to do will be under much scrutiny! Regular audits, tons of lengthy treatment plans, assessments, progress notes, referrals, crisis plans, housing applications, medication advocacy forms, and this is only a sample of the required paperwork that's needs to be done regularly for each consumer! I'm in my 40's and returning to school for a totally different career (Yikes!) but hopefully a career that is less stressful.

Best way to become a case manager is just 'jump in'-but bargain for as long an orientation as you can get. Expect the pay to be lower than staff nursing, and just if not more, stressful. A few good years of med-surg nursing under your belt first is the best experience to have going into this. It will take a nurse new to case management at leat 6 months in my opinion to 'get the hang of it' Dealing with patients, their families and expectations, the docs and learning all the insurance stuff-which changes every year-is daunting, but there is no oncall, nights or weekends (usually). Get certified in case management as that will open up other career paths as well ie insurance, workmans comp etc.

Just be aware, the same if not more stress is there, just different causes.