A faculty case management practice: integrating teaching, service, and research

Like many other schools, the faculty of the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing (OUCN) recently revised its baccalaureate and master's curricula to prepare students better for the evolving changes in the nursing profession and the health care job market. Our personal visions of needed changes, reviews of the literature, and feedback from nursing leaders and community employers supported the need for four significant changes. First, students needed more experiences in the community and clients' homes, with the aged, the chronically ill, and the disabled in all age brackets. Second, students needed greater familiarity with Medicare, Medicaid, and managed care, and more active involvement in the wise use of limited resources. Third, they needed more experience with interdisciplinary teams and with the management of care across sites and levels of acuity. Fourth, there was a need for more consistent integration of health promotion and research content into student learning related to emerging trends in health care and nursing practice.