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Nurse case manager skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Susan Belliston Ph.D.,

Terrica Durbin Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical nurse case manager skills. We ranked the top skills for nurse case managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 25.2% of nurse case manager resumes contained care management as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a nurse case manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 nurse case manager skills for your resume and career

1. Care Management

Here's how nurse case managers use care management:

Conducted assessments to identify individual needs and a specific care management plan to address objectives and goals as identified during assessment.
Collaborated with Medical Directors across the nation during monthly round to troubleshoot unconventional infertility health care management and education.

2. Discharge Planning

Here's how nurse case managers use discharge planning:

Coordinate matters involving Medicare reimbursement, oversee Quality Assurance and Utilization Review issues, and coordinate discharge planning.
Ensured admissions, utilization review, and discharge planning were executed according to hospital and regulatory standards.

3. Patients

Here's how nurse case managers use patients:

Assist patients with establishment of care with specialty providers ensuring all medical/clinical notes and approved referrals are provided to gaining specialist.
Implement and incorporate a proactive approach to help facilitate timely movement of patients through the rehabilitative process.

4. Home Health

Here's how nurse case managers use home health:

Performed utilization reviews by authorizing home health visits for members recently discharged from a facility.
Managed home health benefits and coordinated with Medicare-Medicaid for eligibility of services.

5. Rehabilitation

Here's how nurse case managers use rehabilitation:

Coordinated rehabilitation care for cardiac populations after various cardiac procedures/hospitalization.
Provided rehabilitation nursing coordination and care supervision for the home care team caring for individuals with catastrophic injuries and chronic illnesses.

6. Medical Care

Here's how nurse case managers use medical care:

Advocated for patients with respect to approval for coverage for necessary medical care and advised state care-providers regarding appropriate medical decisions.
Provided short-term medical care/monitoring and educated patient, family, and private caregivers in care at home and disease management.

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7. Diabetes

Diabetes refers to a disease of uncontrolled sugar levels in the body.

Here's how nurse case managers use diabetes:

Worked collaboratively with local diabetes team, health professionals and community agencies.
Provided group diabetes education classes at community centers and physician offices.

9. Excellent Interpersonal

Here's how nurse case managers use excellent interpersonal:

Dedicated patient advocate with excellent interpersonal/communication skills.
Focused on patient satisfaction through excellent interpersonal skills and hospitality initiatives.

10. ICU

ICU means intensive care units. It also has a name known as the critical care unit or intensive therapy unit. The ICU handles patients experiencing acute diseases or severe injuries that need specialized treatment procedures by specific professionals.

Here's how nurse case managers use icu:

Nurse Case Manager/Discharge planner for NICU, ICU, and Step-Down Units.
Moved into nurse manager role for ICU and Skilled Nursing.

11. Excellent Organizational

Here's how nurse case managers use excellent organizational:

Required excellent organizational and communication skills.
Obtain patient history, analyze reports while displaying excellent organizational skills in patient charting and record keeping.

12. URAC

Here's how nurse case managers use urac:

Participated in the use of quality indicators such as predictive modeling and inter-rater reliability and assisted in URAC accreditation standards.
Assisted with successful company URAC certification.

13. Utilization Review

Another name for utilization review is utilization management. It is the process of ensuring that healthcare services are used in a suitable manner. Utilization review is a critical component of adding value to the health care system. Mostly, UR is carried out by healthcare insurance companies, but hospitals and other healthcare providers also perform the process. Utilization review has three types of assessment namely: concurrent, prospective, and retrospective.

Here's how nurse case managers use utilization review:

Managed patient's length-of-stay through collaboration with physicians and utilization review staff with additional focus on patients in observation status.
Work with facilities, utilization review departments and case managers to acquire medical documentation, assist with locating contracted providers.

14. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how nurse case managers use community resources:

Completed initial and periodic follow up assessments and coordinated community resources, referrals, and medication management programs for clients.
Managed a caseload of patients to achieve optimum patient outcomes while utilizing community resources and community agencies as needed.

15. Care Coordination

Here's how nurse case managers use care coordination:

Collaborated with internal/external clients to promote care coordination, appropriate use of plan benefits and effective utilization of services.
Collaborated with providers and community agencies to provide complex case management and care coordination services.

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What skills help Nurse Case Managers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on nurse case manager resumes?

Susan Belliston Ph.D.

Clinical Assistant Professor, Idaho State University

The best skills for a stand out resume:
-Evidence of critical thinking skills - the ability to solve complex problems.
-Customer service skills - experience working with the public and dealing with difficult people.
Helpful on a resume or in interviews:
-Enthusiasm - Evidence of interest in the job and in the company for which the person is applying.
-Humility - Even if you are the best student, you do not know everything. As a new graduate, you are just entering a new profession. You have a good foundation, but you look forward to improving by gaining experience and working with other professionals.
-Evidence of stability or a plan for stability - No one wants to hear that you only plan to work here for a year or two.

What soft skills should all nurse case managers possess?

Terrica Durbin Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Director, School of Nursing, Western Carolina University

Communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, flexibility.

What hard/technical skills are most important for nurse case managers?

Dr. Catherine Stubin Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Rutgers University - Camden

Nursing is a complex profession that requires continuous interaction with a variety of individuals in a high-stress environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased nurses' psychological distress, which could leave the U.S. with an unstable nurse workforce in years to come.
Priority consideration must be given to the psychosocial needs of nurses, as preparing nurses to persevere through adversities is essential for maintaining their physical, mental, and emotional health throughout their careers. We need skilled, caring, competent nurses who can cope with the physical and psychological demands of the nursing profession. Resilience is a core value and fundamental theme that must be addressed in the nursing workforce. Research demonstrates that there is a correlation between a healthcare professional's resilience and well-being in the workplace. Access to or engagement with social resources can activate self-care and resilient attributes, and resilience training can positively impact nurse stress, mindfulness, and resilience. Resilient nurses can better manage their response to stress and adversity, which will contribute to patient safety and promote positive patient outcomes.

What nurse case manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Michelle Hampton Ph.D.

Associate Professor, San Jose State University

I think there are always opportunities to work and gain experience once the nurse is licensed. They might need to be creative, flexible, and work where there's a need. That might be a specialty area they hadn't considered or a geographic area that requires some travel. I don't think a gap year is inevitable for all new graduates and there might be opportunities for them to find work, and they can always continue the learning process after you're employed, even if it's not your dream job. The more significant obstacle seems to be for students who are currently still in nursing programs.

Clinical sites weren't accepting students for several months, and now that they are again, they have significantly limited the number of students allowed at one time and the number of hours they can train. When a staff member or patient tests positive, students are pulled from the site for some time, and students are struggling to get the minimum number of hours required to continue progressing in the nursing program. Some schools have even suspended admission for new groups of students instead choosing to focus on getting the current students through the program.

What type of skills will young nurse case managers need?

Jeffery Christian

Professor, Sac City

The more things change, the more they stay the same. With that said, there will always be universal skills that are required for the nursing profession. Skills such as being a great listener. A great listener to me is a nurse who has empathy. A nurse who has empathy can put themselves in the patient's shoes and therefore, will be better at meeting that particular patient's needs. A nurse with empathy will know how to ask the right questions, in a way that is nonjudgmental, and uses open-ended questions that empower the patient to share their true self.

Building relationships with patients is vital for patient education and teaching. So much of nursing is teaching. If the nurse does not have the skill of relationship building, many opportunities to truly create change in the patient's life will be lost. When we (the nursing profession) truly see and understand what our patient's lives look like, then we put ourselves and our patients in the best possible position to create life-long change.

Life-long learning - nursing is based on Evidence-Based Practice. What that means is that the nursing profession is constantly researching and developing best practices. That means, if you are entering the profession, you have to be quick to adapt and open to constant change. Even more so than open, eager to find the best way to deliver world-class patient care.

Maintaining life balance - I have been a nurse for 28 years, and this profession is much more difficult now than it was when I started. In order for bedside nurses to be effective, and to not develop compassion fatigue/burnout... homeostasis has to be achieved. A young nurse just entering the profession has to know how to keep balance. Whether it is yoga, journaling, exercising, eating well, sleeping well,... all of these components have to be in balance so the nurse can come to work refreshed and recharged.

Obviously - one of the key components to being a great nurse and having sustainability in this profession is to be a critical thinker. Nothing is as it seems, and this profession demands nurses to constantly be on their toes and to be thinking critically about why they do what they do. Whether it is passing a specific medication, performing a diagnostic test, ... the ability to constantly think critically is vital for patient safety.
There are so many more, but I have to get back to work, and this is taking longer than I thought...

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List of nurse case manager skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a nurse case manager resume and required skills for a nurse case manager to have include:

Care Management
Discharge Planning
Patients
Home Health
Rehabilitation
Medical Care
Diabetes
Social Work
Excellent Interpersonal
ICU
Excellent Organizational
URAC
Utilization Review
Community Resources
Care Coordination
SNF
Utilization Management

Quality Care
HHA
Health Care Services
Patient Education
Mental Health
Disease Management
Primary Care
Foster Care
Medical Necessity
IV
Disease Process
InterQual
Medical Treatment
Patient Care
Hospice Care
Medication Administration
Durable Medical Equipment

Medical Services
CMS
EMR
Physical Therapy
Health Education
Senior Care
Symptom Management
Proactive Planning
Concurrent Review
Medication Management
Physician Orders
Palliative Care
Community Agencies
Direct Patient Care
OT

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Updated January 8, 2025

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