Is managed care education for new nurses adequate?

Nursing practices have been affected by managed care at all levels, from nursing administration to direct patient care, causing one to ask if new practicing nurses receive adequate managed care education. A search of the literature published between 1982 and February 2006 was conducted using ProQuest, Article First, ERIC, and PubMed. The literature primarily comprised anecdotal articles; only two qualitative research-based studies were published. The search revealed nurse employers and nurse educators believe that managed care competencies are very important for new practicing nurses, but even with curricula changes, managed care competencies are deficient for new practicing nurses. Further research is recommended to identify the specific managed health care education that would be effective in preparing new practicing nurses for today's health care arena at all levels of nursing.