How to Prepare for the CCM Exam

The CCM exam is administered by the Commission for Case Manager Certification. Candidates must meet certain educational and experience requirements to qualify. Those who are qualified and pass the exam become a Certified Case Manager.

Certification requirements include either licensure or separate certification based on college (or nursing school) education in a field promoting the “physical, psychosocial, or vocational well-being of the persons being served.” A license must come from a government body, but certification may come from a non-government body. The certification must be based on an exam that displays the candidate’s knowledge of the discipline in question. Finally, such license or certification must allow the candidate to practice on an independent basis, not just as an associate or supervised worker of a licensed individual.

Now, this educational requirement is pretty broad. So to give yourself the best chance of passing the CCM exam, you may wish to include as many classes as possible in case management or similar subjects. That does not appear to be required under the Commission for Case Manager Certification’s rules, but it would be helpful in preparing for the test.

There is also an experience requirement. Obviously, real-life work experience can also be beneficial in exposing you to information and skills that will help you on the CCM exam, as well. One of these three categories must be met:

1. 12 months under the supervision of a Certified Case Manager (a CCM who is already certified by the CCMC);

2. 24 months of any work in case management; or

3. 12 months as a supervisor of other case managers.

Once you have qualified, access the CCM test content outline in the Certification Guide. It has a nice breakdown of every major topic tested on the exam. This will tell you what topics to study, although it does not give you the exact substantive information to pass.

There are also some CCM practice questions in this guide. Wait until after you have fully studied to try those questions. That way, you can see if you are ready for the test.

Note: The total for taking the exam and applying for certification is $325.

For learning the substantive material necessary to pass the CCM exam, the Commission provides a large list of references. It would be very expensive to buy all of these and take loads of time to read them, as well. Try to hook up with a current Certified Case Manager and get some advice on which books to focus on, as time and possibly money will likely be a problem with such a huge list of reference books for the CCM test.

Resources:

CCMC: Page for Links to the Certification Guide and CCM Exam Guide

CCMC: Reference List