There is an increasing interest in health care models that incorporate new roles for nurses as care managers [1]. The concept of specialist nurses has developed to nurse-led services in collaboration with other professionals in an effort to provide the highest quality of care. Specialist nurses were first trained in Europe in the early 1980s and have since been widely accepted by many countries and employed in many settings [2] .Although highly appreciated by patients and other health care professionals, few studies have investigated the success and effectiveness of services led by specialist nurses [3-5]. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.