Case management in the undergraduate curriculum

Rural Community Case Management Experience for Bachelor of Science in Nursing Students: A Focus Group Evaluation

BACKGROUND

This presentation concerns the evaluation of an additional clinical experience in case management for senior baccalaureate students. During their final leadership course, nursing students can elect to do an additional 80-hour precepted clinical experience focusing on case management in primary care clinics. As part of that experience, they rotate through seven nurse-managed rural primary health clinics in Tennessee.

METHOD

As part of the evaluation process, students and preceptors were asked to review the experiences that students had participating in the clinical.

RESULTS

For the most part, students were highly satisfied with the case management experience and thought it provided an additional skill set for them as they were completing their final year in nursing school and preparing to enter the nursing workforce as graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

CONCLUSION

A community case management clinical opportunity in primary care allows a community experience for students that provides them with an opportunity to witness an RN practicing to the full scope of the license. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(9):557-560.].

Using evidence-integrated e-learning to enhance case management continuing education for psychiatric nurses: a randomised controlled trial with follow-up

BACKGROUND

E-learning is a flexible strategy to improve nurses' knowledge of case management, but there are methodological limitations in previous research into the effectiveness of such programs.

PURPOSE

To describe the development and effectiveness of an evidence-integrated e-learning program in case management continuing education for Taiwanese psychiatric nurses.

DESIGN

Multiple methods were adopted to develop the program and a randomised controlled trial with repeated measures was employed to evaluate it.

METHODS

The e-learning program was developed in four stages: (1) systematic review of literature; (2) needs assessment through a national survey and focus group; (3) development of learning materials; and (4) pilot test. Following program development, psychiatric nurses were recruited and randomly allocated into an experimental or comparison group. The experimental group participated in an e-learning continuing education program. The case management knowledge index with sufficient reliability and validity and a satisfaction survey were used to determine the outcomes. A generalised estimating equation was used to assess the difference between the 2 groups before, after, and at 3 months follow-up.

RESULTS

The learning material comprised 5 simulated learning modules, self-assessment questions, learning cases, sharing experiences, and learning resources. A total of 200 participants completed the 3 measurements. Knowledge scores in the experimental group significantly exceeded those in the comparison group after the program and at the 3-month follow-up. Participants reported positive learning perceptions.

CONCLUSION

The program provides an evidence-based educational resource for nursing continuing education in case management.

Case management curriculum in nursing education

Case management has been viewed as an essential function within the current healthcare environment. While the importance of case management in providing quality patient care is documented in the literature and in statements by national nursing and healthcare organizations, there is limited identification and documentation of case management content in nursing education programs. The purpose of this study was to identify the current case management content taught in nursing education programs and to determine the essential concepts and skills of case management relevant to associate, baccalaureate, and graduate nursing education. Using the results of this study, one baccalaureate nursing program revised a chronic illness course to expand the classroom presentation and clinical experience associated with case management content.