Residence Requirements:

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS: THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. There are fourteen (14) vacancies at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation.

Examples of Duties:

A Nurse Case Manager develops and coordinates patient care services utilizing the case management model; 

Familiarizes self with and monitors assigned patient's medical/psychosocial history and keeps track of their major sequence of events during current hospitalization;

Introduces self to patient/family to explain the role of the case manager and group practice;

Contacts physician(s) to share assessments, goals, and plans for the patient's hospital stay and episode of illness and knows the anticipated diagnosis-related group (DRG), length of stay, and transfer/discharge dates;

Collaborates with physician(s) and/or interdisciplinary team(s) to develop critical paths and case management plans (CMP) for specific medical diagnoses;

Selects initial CMP and critical pathway, if established, and coordinates early discharge planning with Social Services;

Accompanies and assists physician on rounds;

Keeps physician and/or interdisciplinary team informed on current patient status;

Consults with physician and/or interdisciplinary team on patient progress toward expected outcomes and methods needed to achieve desired outcome;

Identifies, analyzes and takes corrective action for patterns of variance that emerge within CMP or critical pathways selected for a patient;

Compares the standard case management plan with the patient's individual needs in such areas as social and economic data, family resources, functional abilities, knowledge needs, potential risk factors and complications, and special concerns or issues;

Assess and evaluates each patient's plan of care daily;

Reviews admissions to hospital within one (1) business day of patient arrival;

Compares patient health record to licensed criteria to determine if admission can be certified for provision of acute care;

Identifies or assists physician in identifying safe level of care or treatment; issues level of care letters in accordance with ECMCC policies and third-party payer guidelines;

Completes paperwork for patient discharge, in accordance with third-party payer guidelines, when acute care is no longer necessary;

Coordinates the alternate level of care (ALC) documentation process for patients deemed unable to stay in the hospital for acute care or not admitted to long-term care setting;

Requests physician review of cases and related documentation to support ALC orders;

Completes Patient Review Instrument (PRI), in accordance with New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, Title 10, Part 85.8, and utilizes resulting score/measure to determine if patient meets admission criteria;

Assists in monitoring Electronic Health Record (EHR)/Electronic Medical Record (EMR) compliance and activity.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test: 

A) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Master's degree in Nursing and three (3) years of acute hospital nursing experience, at least one (1) year in acute medical nursing; or:

B) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered four (4) year college or university with a Bachelor's degree in Nursing and five (5) years of acute hospital nursing experience, at least two (2) years in acute medical nursing; or:

C) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B).

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Possession of a license and current registration to practice as a Registered Professional Nurse in the State of New York at the time of appointment and maintenance throughout period of employment;
Possession of Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification at time of appointment and maintenance throughout period of employment;
Possession of Patient Review Instrument (PRI) Certification as administered by New York State Department of Health within twelve (12) months of appointment and maintenance throughout period of employment.

Notes:

NOTES: 1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements. 2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates:  Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.  All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Evaluating health care

These questions test for knowledge of medical symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, and federal and New York State quality assurance standards and discharge planning; for the ability to apply this knowledge to given situations; and for the ability to evaluate client care and treatment.

2. Medical, psychiatric, developmental conditions and treatments

These questions will test for knowledge in areas such as: acceptable treatments and standard medical alternatives; symptoms, tests, procedures, and treatments associated with specific diagnoses; evaluation of the appropriateness of treatment methods; characteristics of the various populations diagnosed with mental illness or intellectual/developmental disabilities.

3. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

4. Understanding and interpreting health records and reports

These questions test for the ability to read, interpret, and apply information used in evaluating health care. You will be required to read and interpret selections from medical records and reports; laws, rules, and regulations relating to health care; and/or narratives on health-related topics. 

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.