Date of Conferral

4-24-2026

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Mattie Burton

Abstract

Nurse care managers (NCMs) play a central role in shaping patient experience, yet care plans are often developed based on clinical expertise and assessment data without a structured framework to ensure person‑centeredness. This doctoral project addressed the practice problem of inconsistent person‑centered care planning by implementing an educational intervention for NCMs within a managed care organization. Guided by the practice‑focused question—for NCMs in a managed care setting, does education in person‑centered care increase knowledge toward the goal of improving Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey scores?—the project evaluated changes in NCM knowledge following a targeted training session. A pre‑ and post‑education questionnaire consisting of 10 items measured NCM understanding of person‑centered care planning. Descriptive analysis demonstrated a 20‑percentage‑point increase in knowledge scores, indicating that structured education effectively enhanced NCM competency in this domain. These findings suggest that strengthening NCM knowledge may positively influence patient experience and, ultimately, CAHPS performance. Adoption of a standardized person‑centered care planning curriculum is recommended to support sustained practice improvement. Broader implications for nursing practice and social change include fostering communication, trust, and shared decision‑making between patients and clinicians—core elements advanced through person‑centered care planning.

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