The psychiatric consultation/liaison nurse role in case management

Psychiatric consultation/liaison nurses focus on the emotional, spiritual, developmental, cognitive, and behavioral responses of patients and families. They help patients, family, staff, and the entire healthcare system cope with a medical illness and its treatment. Use of psychiatric consultation/liaison nurses ensures that the patient's emotional needs are met, patients and families feel more cared for and respected, and patient satisfaction is increased. Partnerships between case managers and psychiatric consultation/liaison nurses may be especially effective with complex cases, end-of-life decisions, unanticipated hospital stays, certain pediatric populations, and patients who are hospitalized far from home. This article includes four case studies to illustrate such partnerships in a large teaching hospital.