Developing the trauma nurse case manager role

The case manager serves as the coordinator of all care for a specific caseload of patients throughout an episode of illness. This role includes management, clinical, consultation, education, and research roles. Case management is especially important to implement for trauma patients who otherwise have wide variations in outcomes because of the trauma and concomitant social problems. This author describes how the case management role can be implemented, includes a sample job description of the multiple-responsibilities, and provides a case study demonstrating the case manager's role.