Program Overview

Case Management Program

The Case Management Program is designed for healthcare professionals who want to qualify for new positions, explore new career paths, meet continuing education requirements, or document professional mastery of case management theory and practice. This program helps prepare qualified candidates for the Certified Case Manager (CCM) designation through the Commission for Case Manager Certification.

Program Description

Case management is the fastest growing segment of the healthcare industry. Case managers are needed in all areas of healthcare delivery, including HMOs, PPOs, insurance companies, hospitals, high-tech companies, home health, and more. With appropriate education and training, all healthcare professionals (RNs, MDs, RT, LVN, social workers) can become professional Case Managers.

Certificate Benefits

• Students can complete the certificate within one university quarter.
• This face-to-face course is designed as 9 full-day class sessions, plus a case study project presented over two days.
• Students will learn to:
  • Work collaboratively with the patient, physician, family/significant other, and healthcare provider.
  • Encourage clients to self-direct care, self-advocate, and make decisions when appropriate and to the degree possible.
  • Promote the optimum allocation of healthcare dollars and maximize efficiency in the use of available resources.
  • Maintain cost containment in the provision of services and ensure that services are rendered timely and cost-effectively.
  • Designate the expenditure of claims dollars and timely claim determinations.

Who Should Take the Certificate

• Anyone interested in working in the field of case management can benefit from this certificate program. A nursing degree is not required.
• Optimized for healthcare professionals: social workers, physical therapists, rehabilitation counselors, utilization review, and physicians.
• Those looking to move into a new career, especially for an RN who has worked on the floor for many years and is seeking a less physically-demanding environment.

Demand and Job Prospects

• Hospitals, clinics, home health agencies, rehabilitation facilities, insurance companies, HMOs, long-term care facilities, and more, all need case managers.
• We do not provide job placement services, but because the goal of professional education is to prepare students for employment or advancement, our instructors make a point of discussing placement options in every class.

Industry Certification

• The program helps prepare qualified candidates for the Certified Case Manager (CCM) designation through the Commission for Case Manager Certification.

Conditions for Admission

• Please see the application for specific admission requirements for this program. Although a college degree or professional experience in the field are not required, applicants with such experience may receive preference for admission when program capacity is limited.

Continuing Education for Nurses

• UC San Diego, Division of Extended Studies is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
• Course content expires December 31, 2026. No one in a position to control content has a relevant financial relationship with an ineligible company.
• UC San Diego Extended Studies is an approved provider of re-licensure credit for registered nurses by the California Board of Registered Nurses, Provider number 0058.

Special Notes

• Now offered year-round, in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall quarters.
• Military spouses are eligible to use My CAA $4000 scholarship.

Testimonials

• I’m so grateful I took the plunge into [The Case Management Intensive Program]. It’s been a truly rewarding and transformative experience. I've made such valuable connections and now have a network of incredible colleagues I know I can count on.
• I was a Charge Nurse for a decade in the Behavioral Health Unit, I wanted a change of nursing specialty; the Registered Nurse Care Coordinator position opened up after the nurse transferred out.

Program Details

• The Case Management Intensive course is $1,975.
• The Certificate Fee is $125.
• The required textbook is about $60-$80.
• Students may purchase the text via the UC San Diego Bookstore or Amazon.com (no tax, free shipping).

FAQs

• What is case management?
  • The Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC) defines case management as: “a collaborative process that assesses, plans, implements, coordinates, monitors, and evaluates the options and services required to meet an individual’s health needs, using communication and available resources to promote quality, cost-effective outcomes.”
• How long is the program?
  • The certificate program can be completed within one university quarter. A typical schedule will be 8 - 9 consecutive Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
• When and where is it offered?
  • This intensive-format course is now offered year-round, during each of the four quarters. Classes are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., (PST), on Saturdays but occasionally a Friday class is scheduled.
• Who can attend? Do I have to be a nurse/RN?
  • Enrollment is open to anyone with an interest in working in the field of case management; a nursing degree is not required.
• Where are the jobs? Will you place me in a job?
  • Hospitals, clinics, home health agencies, rehabilitation facilities, insurance companies, HMOs, long-term care facilities, and more, all need case managers. We do not provide job placement services, but because the goal of professional education is to prepare students for employment or advancement, our instructors make a point of discussing placement options in every class.

Advisory Board

• Donna Beifus, MPA, BSN, RN, CCM
• Ariella Darlington, MSN, RN, CCM
• Mariecand David, MSN, RN-BC, PCCN
• William Frederick III, MD, PhD
• Jennifer Hagan, MSN, RN, ACM, IQCI

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