Sammanfattning
Patients want cohesive treatment, for which reason nursing case managers are being appointed by municipal and regional authorities. The function requires insight into illness and treatment to allow nurses to help the patient professionally and in terms of their treatment.
The article describes some of the first Danish experiences with nursing case managers employed at the oncology department of the University Hospital, seen from an organisational prospective.
On the basis of a record and questionnaire surveys, the article concludes that the appointment of nursing case managers helps relive the other staff, who are now less frequently interrupted by phone calls during their working day. At the same time, patients say they have experienced improvements in the breadth of view of their treatment. The article is relevant to clinical nurses who wish to promote cohesive treatments, as well as the managers who are considering the introduction of the function in their own departments.