Role and function within managed care organizations: opportunities for nurse managers

Health care systems are facing rapid changes, moving from a fee-for-service environment to managed care. These changes are impacting nursing, eliminating current jobs and creating new opportunities in the field of managed care. Nurses must take a critical look at their current positions and determine what their contributions will be to improving the system of care. It is imperative that nurses move to leadership positions in managed care to represent the needs of patients and providers at the boardroom table. The purpose of this article is to give an insider's view of traditional and nontraditional roles for nurses within managed care organizations, and to challenge nurses to seize the opportunity to participate in designing the health care delivery system of the future.