Since Covid-19, many nursing professionals have been looking to make the transition to work-from-home nurse jobs. And the chronic care manager (CCM) course* offered by Marie Peppers has become one of the most popular ways to do just that.
A multi-layered course that’s available 100% online, Marie’s CCM course is actually “4 courses in one.” It’s not just a chronic care management course, but also a course in remote patient monitoring (RPM), wellness coaching and the basics of HEDIS data abstracting.
A licensed practical nurse based in South Carolina, Marie Peppers wants to help give nurses a chance to learn telehealth-based care management skills to meet the growing demand for chronic care managers. With these skills, nurses can provide Medicare-reimbursed care to patients remotely, without having to travel to a clinic, hospital or even the patient’s home. It’s all 100% work from home — and it’s a career that’s possible after gaining the skills in Marie Peppers’ critical care manager/CCM course.
A CCM course that lets nurses learn at their own pace
Sponsored by CareSimple, the 60-hour CCM course is usually completed within a couple of months, says Marie. However, nurses are encouraged to work at their own pace. Once they start, they have two years of full access to finish the program. (There’s also a five-day money-back guarantee for those who don’t click with the course.)
During those two years, nurses have access to Marie and her team of teachers — also LPNs and RNs — for questions or concerns. They also get exclusive access to a private Facebook nursing group with a community of active users who engage with one another 24 hours a day to network and brainstorm ideas and solutions (and often to make friends, too).
As an online-only program, this CCM course can be started immediately after signing up. Nurses who have the time and ambition to complete it quickly could see their work-from-home job prospects immediately improve. Some nurses who have taken the course have even gone on to open their own consulting business as a remote CCM care provider.
What type of work can nurses expect after completing the CCM course?
What can nurse professionals expect from these work-from-home nurse jobs? Basically, the job is using “nursing interventions and judgment just like the bedside,” as Marie explains. “it’s very similar to bedside but your home doing everything virtually, online, email and phone.”
By helping people with two or more chronic diseases actively manage their care, chronic care managers work to improve health outcomes and prevent hospital readmissions. Nurses talk to patients in 20-minute sessions on the phone or through a videoconferencing tool like Zoom, and coordinate care with other clinicians.
A care plan is determined by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional (like an NP or PA). The nurse then helps to carry out that plan through regular meetings with the patient and communications with other members of the care team (like calling a doctor or pharmacist to coordinate care). Managing remote patient monitoring devices may also be included.
Because this work is now fully reimbursed by Medicare, many private insurers are hiring nurse care managers to care for patients remotely to meet the new guidelines. Agencies, hospitals, clinics and even hospitals are also hiring chronic care managers for work-from-home nurse jobs. And some nurses are even going into business for themselves, taking contract assignments to work at their convenience.
The huge demand for chronic care managers means that the pay is competitive, and some companies provide great benefits, too. Registered nurses may earn more than LPNs/LVNs, but specific pay will vary depending on where a nurse (or their employer or patient) is based, as well as level of education, licensures and certifications. The program is open to RNs, LPNs/LVNs, MAs, NPs and social workers.
Nurses who take the course will also be qualified to work as a telephonic triage nurse, nurse care coach or Medicare health coach.
What’s included in the CCM course?
Presented by CareSimple, the 60-hour, 100% online CCM course teaches work-from-home nurse skills in four subjects: chronic care management, remote patient monitoring (RPM), HEDIS data abstraction and wellness coaching.
These are four skills that closely overlap one another! RPM and wellness coaching are daily tools in chronic care management, enabling nurses to provide care to patients from different locations. And by mastering HEDIS abstraction skills, nurses can better review and manage information like blood pressure readings, exam results and turn it into usable health data.
For nurses who are intimidated by Medicare guidelines, rules and regulations, the course is designed to clear the confusion and enable them to understand these policies and even coordinate care with other healthcare professionals based on this knowledge. The goal is to make it easy to understand and clear away any confusion that may be preventing nurses from benefiting from Medicare reimbursements.
Business management skills are also included to help nurses take basic steps like setting up a website and selling their new skills as a contractor. Given the demand for nurses who can not only take on this patient care, but also help interpret Medicare rules and health data, those opportunities could be pretty amazing.
Perhaps most importantly, nurses who complete the CCM course will learn the fundamentals of remote patient monitoring, which is becoming an essential skill as telehealth becomes more popular. And as more patients demand to be treated from the comfort of their home with the help of this technology, nurses are discovering that it offers them some great new work-from-home opportunities, too.
Interested in shifting to a work-from-home nurse job with Nurse Marie’s CCM course? You can get started here — and remember, enrollment is always open, and you can begin any time!
* This course does not offer certification, and is not associated with the Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC)/CCM® Certification. Earnings and income are speculative and are aspirational statements reflecting a nurse’s earning potential. Individual results will vary.