The Importance of Case Management in the Workplace
Case managers are incredibly important in health care. They act as a liaison between patients and their care teams in order to ensure that patients have access to the resources they need most. Case managers also create care plans and advocate for their patients as they achieve goals they’ve set along the way.
How to Prepare for a Case Management Interview
Prepare for your interview by reviewing common questions. Practice giving thoughtful answers that showcase your strengths and previous experience. It’s also a good idea to think about your career goals over the next five years.
Potential Interview Questions
It’s always a good idea to practice answering questions that you may encounter during the interview. Here are some common questions that are asked during a case manager interview, along with a few ways to answer them.
What Qualities Do You Possess that Make You a Strong Candidate?
Use this opportunity to express your strengths, your education, and your work experience. That way, there will be no question about your ability to successfully fill the role.Describe Your Previous Experience in Case Management.
Share some information about your previous roles in the field, along with a few examples of the types of cases you managed. If this is your first opportunity in the field, you can share personal experiences that helped you to develop the skills you need to be a successful case manager.How Do You Stay Updated with Case Management Best Practices?
Show that you are motivated to remain fully informed of the most up-to-date practices in the field. Some examples include reading peer reviewed journals, listening to podcasts by professionals, attending webinars, and taking online courses.How Do You Approach Assessing Clients' Needs?
Express your ability to communicate effectively and observe each client in order to develop a case plan that suits each patient best. Highlight the ways you assess each client individually, as well as by communicating with their care team.Explain the Importance of Collaboration in Case Management.
Case management requires a lot of collaboration among health care professionals, and you need to prove that you can do this effectively. Discuss how important it is for the care team to communicate effectively and to work together toward helping their clients achieve their goals.How Do You Handle Confidentiality in Case Management?
Discuss the importance of a patient's privacy, and express your understanding of confidentiality in the health care field. You can also mention how important it is to keep your work separate from your personal life.Describe a Challenging Case You Managed Successfully.
At this point, you can begin to share personal stories of your experiences as a case manager. Discuss a client that was particularly difficult, and explain how you were able to maintain ethical practices while keeping the patient's best interests in mind.How Do You Prioritize Tasks and Manage Time Effectively?
Case managers are extremely busy, and it's important that you prove that you're up for the task. Showcase your time management skills, your organizational skills, and your ability to prioritize the most important tasks first.Give an Example of a Complex Problem You Solved in Case Management.
Some cases can be incredibly difficult for case managers to navigate. Provide an example of a time you dealt with a complex problem or explain how important it is for case managers to be able to diffuse a situation while explaining the steps you took to help your client.How Do You Handle Conflicting Priorities in Case Management?
Case managers wear many hats, and you're going to have to prioritize which issues to tackle first. Discuss your organizational skills, and offer examples of the tools you use to ensure that each patient gets the care they need.What Strategies Do You Use to Facilitate Client Empowerment?
Discuss examples of times when you were able to set attainable goals for a client based on observations and medical knowledge. Explain how advocating for your patient helped them to succeed and feel empowered.How Do You Establish Rapport with Clients?
Talk about how important it is to build trust and positive rapport with each client. Talk about how communication and listening skills are necessary, along with a willingness to help them achieve their goals.Describe a Situation Where You Had to Communicate Difficult Information.
Case management comes with some difficult situations. Highlight your ability to professionally relay difficult information to a client so that the situation court be remedied and resolved quickly. This would be a good opportunity to share a personal story from previous experience.How Do You Handle Conflict in a Team?
The interviewer will want to know whether you can work, communicate effectively, and collaborate with a team of other health care professionals. Discuss your communication skills, conflict resolution skills, and collaboration skills, and explain how effective you are at working as a part of a team.Explain the Importance of Cultural Sensitivity in Case Management.
Give examples of times you used cultural awareness, problem-solving skills, and showed respect to a patient in your previous experience.How Do You Adapt Your Communication Style to Different Audiences?
Discuss different ways that you can communicate with clients in order to connect. This can include verbal, written, and visual communication methods, along with lots of flexibility and patience.How Do You Maintain Professional Boundaries with Clients?
Case workers must care for their patients, but they can only do so effectively with professional boundaries in place. Explain how using wise judgment, self-reflection and sensitivity to situations that could become high-risk, will ensure that your boundaries are never crossed.Describe a Situation Where You Encountered an Ethical Dilemma in Case Management.
If asked this question, you'll be relieved that you've already prepared an answer that shows the ethical dilemma you faced along with the step-by-step process you used to navigate the situation.Explain the Importance of Self-Care in Case Management.
A case manager can only be as good as he or she treats themself. Explain how much you value self-care and provide examples of ways you practice it. This will show that you're committed to being the very best you can be, which leads to a better employee overall.How Do You Handle Stressful Situations in the Workplace?
Discuss a difficult situation that you've experienced, and explain the ways you chose to handle it. Highlight strong communication and listening skills, and your ability to collaborate with colleagues to act in the best interest of the patient.
