護理之個案管理教育

Case Management Education in Nursing

鑒於台灣缺乏個案管理教育於護理之論述，本文闡述個案管理定義、護理過程與個案管理過程之異同、國外個案管理教育現況及核心內涵，最後提出對台灣護理教育之建議。由於個案管理對節省醫療花費及提升照護品質之具體成效，個案管理已被廣泛運用於醫療體系。個案管理人需要具備專業知識及技能以協助相關實務活動，達成預期目標。由於護理人員具備專業知識及工作經驗之背景，成為個案管理人之主要專業人員之一。教育準備為影響個案管理成效的關鍵性因素，國外護理院校已陸續開設正式或非正式之個案管理教育課程。本文彙整個案管理教育內涵需包括六項知能領域及三類技能，並建議國內護理院校應儘早增設正式個案管理課程及提供護理人員繼續教育課程，以培訓未來護理專業人員個案管理之能力。此外，本文亦主張學術機構與實務單位合作之繼續教育課程，共同協助促進個案管理於護理專業之持續發展。

In Taiwan, few articles have been published that describe case management education for nurses. This article reviews case management literature and aims to introduce case management definitions, a comparison between the nursing process and the case management process, current case management educational programs and core content for case management education. Finally, suggestions identified from the literature review for Taiwanese nursing education will be discussed. On the basis of evidence of case management's effectiveness in saving health costs and providing better quality of care, case management strategies are currently being implemented in a variety of settings with different populations under a range of conditions. Case management services are assisted by knowledgeable and skilled healthcare professionals called case managers. With their background of professional knowledge and skills and their familiarity with the nursing process, nurses have been the main case managers. A case manager's educational preparation is the key to successful case management. In other countries, many formal and informal case management educational programs have become available to prepare the nursing profession for the demands of the job market. Six essential knowledge areas and three categories of skills are identified for case management education. Developing a formal case management education program in nursing schools and offering continuing professional education for nurse case managers are suggested for Taiwanese nursing education to prepare nurses for case management. Collaboration between nursing academia and nursing practice might be considered an effective strategy to promote the development of case management practice in nursing.