DILEMMAS OF CARING IN A CORPORATE CONTEXT - A CRITIQUE OF NURSING CASE-MANAGEMENT

Nursing case management is widely acclaimed within the nursing literat ure as a form of advanced practice, beneficial for both clients and pa yers. However, case management programs involve potential conflicts be tween client goals and system goals, especially in relation to for-pro fit managed care systems. Early nursing discourse tended to minimize t hose conflicts, but more recent literature has begun to address role c onflicts and ethical challenges. Feminist and critical-theory perspect ives are used to examine nursing case management in the contexts of ca pitalism and sexism, thereby illuminating recurrent dilemmas within th e profession. The ability of nursing case management to resolve those dilemmas is questioned.