Care Coordination and Transition Management: A New Course to Prepare Prelicensure Students

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Management
• Patient Care Coordination

Background:

• Growing need for Registered Nurses (RNs) skilled in care coordination and transition management across diverse settings and populations.
• Development of a specialized Care Coordination and Transition Management (CCTM) course to address this educational gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a CCTM course in enhancing nursing students' skills.
• To promote clinical reasoning and the synthesis of CCTM concepts from patient and family perspectives.

Main Methods:

• Course design focused on individual writing, discussion boards, and a group project.
• Integration of patient and family perspectives into learning activities.
• Emphasis on connecting theoretical CCTM concepts to practical clinical experiences.

Main Results:

• Students successfully applied CCTM concepts in individual and group assignments.
• Learners effectively linked theoretical knowledge with prior and current clinical experiences.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize and apply CCTM principles in practical scenarios.

Conclusions:

• The CCTM course successfully enabled pre-licensure students to learn and apply care coordination and transition management principles.
• The course's learning activities are adaptable for both undergraduate and graduate nursing programs.
• The curriculum provides a foundation for improving patient care transitions through enhanced nursing education.