Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse as a Case Manager

The Illness Beliefs Model assists in limiting the effect that mental illnesses have on the power to tempt families into constraining beliefs that perpetuate illness suffering. Distinguishing illness beliefs involves asking specific questions about beliefs about illness suffering, diagnosis, etiology, healing and treatment, mastery, control and influence, prognosis, religion/ spirituality, and the place of illness in fives and relationships (Wright & Bell, 2009). The beliefs will then be evaluated for alignment between nurses and family. Beliefs are what constitutes the experience of the illness to themselves and to a family member. The beliefs should be assessed to determine if it evokes suffering or effective adaptation. Beliefs at the core of the illness experience require careful examination about the origin of the belief and whether the belief increases or diminishes illness suffering. With the assistance from the advanced practice nurse the maladaptive beliefs are challenged, and adaptive beliefs are strengthened. The goal of this model is to alleviate relational suffering and soften the belief of the illness to the patient and family. The advanced practice nurse for case management of a suicidal patient and family is focused on a holistic orientation in which they coordinate and align human services to effective treat the patient and family system. The nurse performs a comprehensive assessment that includes both the patient, family, environment, and the resources that a community offer to provide multifaceted services to meet all identified needs. The considerations the nurse must incorporate are complex and involve interactions among multiple systems: individuals, families, healthcare professionals, the healthcare system, and larger societal and cultural systems (Wright & Bell, 2009). Nurses who assume advanced practice roles in accordance with families affected by mental illness, assess and intervene at comprehensive levels that encompass