Case management is an essential strategy to control costs and to provide quality care in the current health care environment. While the importance of case management is documented in the literature and statements of nursing and health care organizations, there is limited identification and documentation of case management content in nursing educational programs. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the current case management content taught in nursing education programs and to determine the essential case management content relevant to associate, baccalaureate and graduate nursing education. A Likert scale questionnaire was developed based upon the 2002 Case Management Society of America (CMSA) Standards of Practice to identify what content was taught and what content should be taught in nursing education programs. A Delphi technique was used to reach consensus among nursing educators (n=143) and case managers (n=36) about case management content that should be taught in associate, baccalaureate, and graduate nursing educational programs. Consensus was established when both the case manager and nurse educator groups responses reached a mean of 4.0 or above. Both nurse educators and case managers reported that minimal case management content was presented in associate and baccalaureate nursing programs. Nurse educators in graduate nursing programs reported integration of all case management concepts into the curriculum. Two rounds of surveys were used to reach consensus with the associate and baccalaureate degree participants on what should be taught in schools of nursing. One round of surveys was used to reach consensus with nurse educators in graduate programs. Using the results of this study, a case management curriculum for each level of nursing education (associate, baccalaureate and graduate nursing) is proposed. Nurses comprise the largest group of case managers. Integrating case management concepts and skills into nursing education will enhance patient outcomes and advanced the profession of nursing.
Session #1170 - Nursing Education: Curriculum
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)