By Mary Beth Newman, MSN, RN, CMGT-BC, CCM, FCM
Being recently retired (yay me!), I’m at the point in life where reflecting on work-life experiences generates heartfelt gratitude. I think about my unrelenting focus on promoting best-practice case management throughout my career. Yes, there are many accomplishments (some big, some not-so-big, most in-between) that I’m super proud of! But for me, the real inspiration for and impetus behind these achievements has been my steadfast passion for case management excellence.
This is why CMSA’s Case Management Fellow Program is so important to me. At the most basic level, the Fellowship validates my achievements and contributions to professional case management practice. But much more importantly, the CM Fellow designation recognizes my passion for case management!
My professional work has always revolved around three guiding principles (or what I call “mantras”) which have served as my personal framework for excellence in case management practice:
- Fortify practice with the spirit and intent of our professional case management standards of practice;
- Achieve balance between the “art” of case management (the way we communicate and interact with our clients) and the “science” (the technology we use to carry out the CM process); and
- To succeed in an environment of constant change, disruption, and transformation, you must be flexible and embrace new ways of “thinking and doing.”
Being a Fellow in Case Management (FCM) means keeping these mantras alive and well! Being an FCM provides the ultimate encouragement for me to keep living and breathing these mantras and inspiring others to do so too.
Being an FCM encourages me to keep working on initiatives and projects that help case managers succeed. Being an FCM revs up my internal motivation to keep looking for ways to empower case managers to practice at the top of their professional license and experience fulfilling, impactful, and meaningful careers. Being an FCM facilitates the ongoing quest to drive excellence in professional case management practice in every way possible and imaginable.
Being an FCM reminds me that all of these things are possible if I never stop learning, teaching, growing, adapting, and dreaming - behaviors which play a significant role in what I consider to be a rewarding and fulfilling retirement.
Ultimately, I believe being an FCM is a way for me to honor the past while moving forward; to cast a shadow of influence and inspiration over the up-and-coming generation of case managers; and to continue to give back and pay forward to a profession and a career that has given so much to me.
Find out more about CMSA’s Case Management Fellow Program at https://cmsa.org/about/fellow/ and consider what being an FCM might mean for you!
Bio: Mary Beth Newman, MSN, RN, BC-CMGT, CCM, FCM is a Past President of CMSA. She has 35+ years of professional experience with a focus on building best practice, quality-driven case management programs. Prior to her recent retirement in April 2024, Mary Beth was a Senior Assistant Vice-President at EXL Health where she provided consultative case management expertise to support business development for digital initiatives and clinical operations. Prior to that, she had extensive experience in health plan clinical care management operations spanning commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid populations. She is continually interested in trends and developments in health care and the implications for successful case management practice.