The Guided Care Nurse

In Guided Care, a specially educated registered nurse plays a critical and central role in ensuring that patients receive high-quality and coordinated care. Guided Care Nurses reconnect people to the center of care, are empowered to take control of their patients’ care, provide personal support to each patient individually, and offer support to family caregivers.

To become recognized professionally as a Guided Care Nurse, a candidate with a nursing degree and a current license must complete an accredited online Guided Care Nursing course. Upon completion of the course, the nurse is eligible to take an online examination leading to the American Nurses Credentialing Center's new Certificate in Guided Care Nursing. Please note that the ANCC Certificate is not a certification, but rather a one-time recognition of professional achievement. For more details about the course, please read a 1-pg flyer, visit the website (see "Upcoming Programs" near the upper left corner), or send an email to The Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing.

A nurse with a Certificate in Guided Care Nursing is immediately ready to work in a practice that adopts the Guided Care model. The nurse is also well-positioned to work in a practice that is a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) or a part of an accountable care organization that provides comprehensive, coordinated, continuous care to their patients, including those with multiple chronic conditions who require complex services.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently testing the PCMH in several initiatives including the Multi-payer Advanced Primary Care Initiative and the Federally Qualified Health Center Advanced Primary Care Practice Demonstration. The CMS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced the Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative. Many nationwide pilots and demonstrations of the PCMH are also occurring in the private sector; for details, please visit http://pcpcc.net/pilot-guide and http://pcpcc.net/pcpcc-pilot-projects. In addition, Medicare payment for accountable care organizations (also known as the Medicare Shared Savings Program) was established in Section 3022 of the Affordable Care Act; first agreements will start April 1, 2012. CMMI also announced launched a Pioneer ACO model.

Comments from Guided Care Nurses

“I’m practicing nursing the way it was originally envisioned – holistic patient care.”

“I enjoy the patients and the direct access to the physician. It is great to be in the primary care physician's practice, working side-by-side - a true partnership.”

“My favorite thing about Guided Care is I am in the middle, filling the gaps in the health care system and making sure the patient really gets the care they need.”

"What I love about Guided Care is the patient advocacy, freedom, and creativity it brings to a nurse as a professional."

Comments from Nurses about the Guided Care Nursing Online Course

"Guided Care Nursing is a wonderful opportunity for nurses to get more involved in patient care. I really enjoyed the motivational interviewing portion [of the online course] and how to draw out patient preferences to them them reach their goals."

"Having been a bedside nurse for the past 10 years and now recently new to case management, this course has taught me new ways of communicating with my patient and their caretakers."

"In my profession, we focus on community & hospital case management, so it was great finding a course that is applicable to our company."

"I really liked the webinar interactions and talking to the other participants. It was very helpful in my learning."

"The most effective thing in this unit was how to integrate Guided Care into practice because it may seem like an uphill task initially but, with a guide, it makes it more realistic and practical in application."