The state boards of nursing nationwide agree that the role of the nurse, regardless of the setting, is to assess the client’s response to the health problem as well as the treatment regime and to act as the coordinator of care.? Case management, when the term is used to describe a healthcare delivery system, most often employs nurses to bring together members of various healthcare disciplines as the team develops a comprehensive holistic plan to meet the needs of the client.? The best and most comprehensive plans are developed by collaborative interdisciplinary teams that include the physical, spiritual, developmental, socio-cultural, and psychological aspects of the client’s care.
Upon successful completion of this discussion, you will be able to:
In this workshop, you will explore the evidence that shows meeting the healthcare needs of the patient often requires interventions from an interdisciplinary healthcare team. Most believe that meeting all aspects of the clients’ needs requires a collaborative approach. In the United States, it has traditionally been the professional nurse who coordinates and implements evidence-based interventions and the nursing care plan is often the tool used to coordinate this interdisciplinary process. However, recent literature describes case management as an evolving role that other professionals can perform and that care coordination can look quite different in other countries. This assignment includes articles that approach case management from very different perspectives. Select one that interests you and apply what you learn about case management and interprofessional collaboration to the discussion questions.
