The meaning of care management attributed by nursing faculty members from the viewpoint of complex thinking.

OBJECTIVE To understand the meaning of care management attributed by faculty members of a nursing course from the viewpoint of complex thinking. METHODS Qualitative and comprehensive research with case studies, and individual interviews with 17 faculty members of a nursing course of a public university in southern Brazil. The data were subjected to comprehensive analysis based on the principle of complex thinking of Edgar Morin. RESULTS Two categories emerged: "classical fragmentation versus the contemporary whole" and "teaching care management and the nursing work process", whereby it was observed that despite the integrating proposal of the curriculum, care management is viewed as fragmented. CONCLUSIONS Care management must be redefined if it is expected to serve as an aggregator in education. It is necessary to create strategies that enable moments of reflection on the subject, and for education to provoke changes in the work process of nurses.