3 minute read
CDMS Spotlight
CERTIFICATION OF DISABILITY MANAGEMENT SPECIALISTS COMMISSION
The Journey from Certificant to Volunteer to Commissioner
Rebecca L. Fisco, CDMS
Like many professionals in this field, I have moved further towards the disability management practice as my career has progressed. It’s been an interesting journey that has been enhanced by my becoming a Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS) as well as by my increased involvement with the Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC), which administers the CDMS examination and certification process.
My background is in psychology and community-based mental health. Early in my career, I provided end-toend case management for individuals who had been hospitalized in state psychiatric facilities (for at least 10 years) and were ready to reintegrate into the community. My job duties included helping clients obtain Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, overseeing their treatment follow-up and compliance, and arranging housing and other services as necessary. Through my experiences in this position, I saw the importance of a holistic approach in case management: helping individuals secure access to the resources they need to be successful.
My next professional transition coincided with a move back to Ohio, where I had grown up. In 2008, I began working as a disability case manager for The Ohio State University, providing disability management services to faculty and staff, including workers’ compensation, vocational rehabilitation, skills training, and transitional returnto-work (RTW) as well as nonoccupational case management for employees covered by short-term or long-term disability or other leaves.
In Ohio, as a monopolistic workers’ compensation state, all employers are required to be insured by the state’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, which administers the program and sets forth specific guidelines for medical and service providers. To perform vocational rehabilitation services, professionals must be certified through the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and must have either a master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation or must be a CDMS. To deliver the best possible outcomes for my employer and the employees with whom I work, I pursued the CDMS certification in 2012.
Disability management is a specialized field with a unique set of skills and knowledge. Therefore, connecting with others in the field is extremely important, particularly to facilitate sharing information on new legislation and best practices. This led me to pursue opportunities with professional organizations, such as serving on the Disability Management Employer Coalition’s local and national boards. When I received an email from CDMS asking for volunteers to help develop and review test questions for the certification examination, I saw this as a way to connect with other disability management practitioners, express my passion for continuing education, and to give back to the profession.
As a volunteer serving on the CDMS test development committee, I deepened my understanding of disability management concepts, including in areas that were beyond my day-to-day job responsibilities. I also gained an appreciation for the development and maintenance of a nationally accredited certification examination; for example, ensuring clarity of language in both the questions and the answer choices. I found the experience so rewarding that I encouraged a colleague to join me on the test development committee, and she serves on it to this day.
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Rebecca Fisco, CDMS,
is a newly elected Commissioner of the Commission for Case Manager Certification, the first and largest nationally accredited organization that certifies more than 50,000 professional case managers and disability management specialists with its CCM® and CDMS® credentials. Rebecca is also the Associate Director of Integrated Absence Management and Vocational Services for The Ohio State University.
