Navigation Toolkit

This section provides invaluable resources to assist nurse navigators and patient navigators in the management of patient care.

Precision Medicine Toolkit: A Resource Guide for the Navigator NEW
Developing the oncology navigator’s skills as a genetic patient educator begins by building a working knowledge of precision medicine, germline and somatic testing, and how it may specifically impact the patient population they serve. This resource guide will serve as an essential tool for Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators (ONNs and OPNs) involved in the care coordination of patients regarding current and emerging technologies in precision medicine.

Optimizing Bispecific Antibody Therapy in Multiple Myeloma: A Resource Guide for Nurse and Patient Navigators
The therapeutic landscape of multiple myeloma (MM) has undergone a remarkable evolution over the past 2 decades. The development and application of novel agents and new generations of drugs, such as proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs, and monoclonal antibody–based therapies, have resulted in improved prognosis and extended survival of patients with MM. Although these therapeutic advances are opportune and transformative, they add complexity to the MM clinical algorithms.
This resource guide is a review of bispecific antibodies, one of the new therapies currently being studied in clinical trials for patients with relapsed/refractory MM (RRMM), and best practices for oncology nurses and nurse and patient navigators, social workers, care coordinators, and advanced practice providers in supporting patients with RRMM who may be eligible for bispecific antibody–based treatment.

Metastatic NSCLC Biomarker Testing Reference Guide
This resource offers key information on the importance of biomarker testing and highlights clinical guideline recommendations to aid in identifying appropriate patients for testing. Also featured is a list of established and emerging biomarkers to support medical professionals when deciding on treatment options. This list identifies the biomarker, prevalence, clinicopathologic correlates, and the approved and investigational therapies for quick reference when making decisions for cancer care.

Lillie Shockney Shares Stories of Caring for Father with Prostate Cancer
AONN+ Co-Founder Lillie Shockney was featured in a “Urology Care Podcast” episode, which is the official podcast of the Urology Care Foundation. Lillie spent many years caring for her father with prostate cancer. In this episode, she shares some stories from that journey.

Lillie Shockney Discusses Prostate Cancer Caregiving
AONN+ Co-Founder Lillie Shockney shares her insights on cancer care in a podcast series by the Urology Care Foundation. The goal of this podcast is to help patients and caregivers gain a better understanding about prostate cancer caregiving.

Cancer Registry World™ Episode 2: A Conversation with Lillie D. Shockney, RN, Co-Founder of the Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators
AONN+ Co-Founder Lillie Shockney was featured in Cancer Registry World, which is a podcast series that focuses on the role of cancer registrars and cancer registries in the universal treatment of malignancy. In Episode 2 of this series, Lillie discusses the benefits of the cancer registry in addressing clinical and research needs for the cancer navigation community.

COVID-19 Navigator Toolkit
This toolkit provides invaluable resources to assist nurse navigators and patient navigators in the management of patient care during the coronavirus pandemic.

Geriatric Cancer Care Toolkit
Over half of all US cancer survivors are > 65 years; these patients face many challenges and barriers to optimal cancer care and services. Nurse and patient navigators play a vital role in geriatric cancer care by supporting this population with access to specialized care, coordinated resources for treatment planning, care management, and help to minimize barriers. This resource provides helpful information for healthcare team members involved in the management of geriatric patients as it explores the principles (physical, psychosocial, cultural, spiritual, and socioeconomic), healthcare disparities, nutritional considerations, and caretaking of geriatric oncology.

Oncology Navigation Training: Earn Up to 17.0 CE for Nursing Professionals!
The George Washington University Cancer Center is now offering 17 nursing continuing education credits for Oncology Patient Navigator Training: The Fundamentals. Join the community of hundreds of nursing professionals who have already completed this training and enroll today!

2022 Patient Guide to Cancer Support Services
CONQUER: the patient voice, the official patient magazine of AONN+, shares a list of organizations that may help patients receive the best treatment and relieve financial worries with its Sixth Annual Patient Guide to Cancer Support Services.

Eighth Annual Oncology Guide to Patient Support Services
The latest edition of Oncology Practice Management’s Guide to Patient Support Services provides contact information for programs offered by drug companies and nonprofits to help patients with cancer with the cost of their care.

Navigating Multiple Myeloma: The Critical Importance of the First 90 Days
A comprehensive update on multiple myeloma to include diagnostic tests, treatments, and related navigation strategies. Supported by Janssen Pharmaceuticals/Legend Biotech.

Navigating Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: The Critical Importance of the First 90 Days
Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cannot expect to follow a textbook example of “how CLL is treated,” as each case is different based on patient age, comorbidities, and specifics related to mutations/severity. Veteran navigators offer expert commentary on CLL disease state, treatment considerations, psychosocial impact, and more.

Value-Based Care Perspectives Podcast
Rani Khetarpal, AONN+ Leadership Council Member, and host of the Value-Based Care Perspectives podcast, sat down with Lillie Shockney and Billie Lynn Allard, for her latest episode, “Oncology Navigation and Patient Care | AONN+.”

CAR T-Cell Therapy: Implications for Navigation Practice
This 16-page resource is designed for oncology nurse and patient navigators who are caring for patients with multiple myeloma undergoing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.

Evaluating Pharmacy Dispensing Models to Help Improve Cancer Care Delivery
AONN+ served as a project partner on this Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) resource that highlights practice profiles of 4 cancer programs and their dispensing models.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Publications for Patients, Caregivers, Healthcare Providers
A collection of publications by the Cancer Support Community for AML patients to learn more about treatment options, what questions to ask their healthcare team, as well as resources for information and support. It includes a guide on how healthcare professionals can discuss important AML topics with patients. These publications are part of the Cancer Support Community’s “Frankly Speaking About Cancer” educational series.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Publications for Patients, Caregivers, Healthcare Providers
A collection of publications by the Cancer Support Community for CLL patients to learn more about CLL diagnosis and treatment, how to communicate with their doctors, and how to maintain the best possible quality of life. The collection includes the AONN+ Cancer Advocacy & Patient Education CLL resource. These publications are part of the Cancer Support Community’s “Frankly Speaking About Cancer” educational series.

A Guide for Oncology Healthcare Professionals to Manage Stress and Promote Self-Care
This 22-page “Self-Care Guide” discusses concepts such as stress, fatigue, self-care, self-compassion, fortitude, team resilience, moral distress, and more. It includes self-care exercises that oncology nurse and patient navigators, and other healthcare professionals can incorporate into their routines. This toolkit was designed as part of the Cancer Support Community’s workshop series titled “What’s In Your First Aid Kit?: Resources and Tools to Help You Survive and Thrive.”

3 Resources to Transform Care for Older Adults with Cancer
The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) developed a suite of resources to help cancer care teams assess and improve the care they provide for older adults with cancer. The 3 resources include an evidence-based gap assessment tool to evaluate key elements of care, a how-to guide that offers detailed strategies that can be implemented without significant burden on staff or budgets, and an online resource library with more than 100 resources and tools to support improvement plans.

Metastatic NSCLC Biomarker Testing Roadmap
This roadmap provides key information on the biomarker testing process, outlines the importance of waiting for testing results in order to make optimal treatment choices, and offers insights into care coordination among the medical professionals who make up the treatment team.

NCCN Member Institution Portal and Toolkit
Members at an NCCN Member Institution can access the Member Institution Portal and NCCN Toolkit on NCCN’s website to gain access to information about NCCN services and opportunities, the NCCN toolkit, and reports detailing your institution’s representatives to NCCN Guidelines Panels and Committees.

Implementing the Commission on Cancer Standard 8.1: Addressing Barriers to Care - A Road Map for Comprehensive Cancer Control Professionals and Cancer Program Administrators
This road map is an update of a previous resource for Implementing the Commission on Cancer Standard 3.1: Patient Navigation Process. This resource will guide CCC professionals and administrators in identifying and addressing barriers to accessing health and/or psychosocial cancer care for cancer patients.

Biomarker Testing for Lung Cancer
Cancer Support Community’s interactive Lung Cancer Biomarker Tool can help patients and caregivers understand what test they should get and what the results mean for their treatment.

CONQUER magazine’s Guide for Patients with Lung Cancer
Help your patients with lung cancer understand the process of their disease and the treatment options that are best for them. CONQUER: the patient voice is pleased to present this 4-part series of articles on non–small-cell lung cancer, the most frequently occurring type. Written for patients by an oncologist and a nurse practitioner, each of the Patient’s Guides addresses a topic often confronted during the course of therapy: Staging; Treatment; Biomarker Testing; and an Overview of the Lung Cancer Patient Journey. Also included is an easy-to-navigate “road map” that highlights important treatment milestones. The series was written with the financial support of Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

AONN+ 2020 Navigation Metrics Toolkit
AONN+ has identified 35 evidence-based navigation metrics that are relevant to cancer care, and demonstrate the value and sustainability of oncology navigation. This toolkit was developed to help navigators, oncology program administrators, healthcare executives, and other clinicians who are linked to navigation understand and support the integration of these standardized metrics into their normal business process. The toolkit will provide guidance on how to select, implement, report, and utilize them as they engage in quality/performance improvement and strategic decision-making.

AONN+, The Lynx Group, and GoMo Health: A Collaboration for Oncology Care
GoMo Health, The Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+), and The Lynx Group are partnering to increase the efficacy of telehealth with patient-partnered care. This evidence-based telehealth system is designed to enable shared decision-making between the patient and the care team, thereby increasing patient adherence to their treatment plan.

Navigating Advanced Prostate Cancer: A Resource Guide for the Navigator
The prostate cancer landscape is broader than ever before, amplifying the challenges for not only the patients facing the disease, but also their families and/or caregivers. This toolkit provides a centralized set of resources and offers guidance to nurse and patient navigators on how to overcome those challenges and best serve those patients and their families/caregivers, particularly in the advanced stages.

Highlights from the National Evidence-Based Oncology Navigation Metrics: Multisite Exploratory Study to Demonstrate Value and Sustainability of Navigation Programs
This infographic illustrates key findings from the first-of-its-kind study to examine outcomes, evaluate analytics, identify barriers/challenges, analyze performance improvement processes, and identify opportunities for future research.

Metastatic Breast Cancer Pathways: A Resource Guide for the Navigator
Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is a challenging diagnosis on all levels—physically, psychosocially, and spiritually. For the patient with MBC, a navigator provides essential support to meet the challenges this diagnosis brings. The quality of support in MBC depends on the depth of a navigator’s knowledge of the disease—deepening such knowledge is the goal of this toolkit.

Navigating the Cancer Continuum in the Context of Value-Based Care
The Patient Navigation in Cancer Care Toolkit examines the history and evolution of navigation, the core competencies, current models of navigation, and the role of the navigator along the care continuum. The toolkit also explores the importance of administrative engagement and standardized metrics for the development of a successful navigation program. Valuable resources are provided in this toolkit for professional and program development.

Team-Based Oncology Care: The Pivotal Role of Oncology Navigation
Learn how effective navigation requires a team approach to oncology care and should never be considered an “add-on” resource or service. Written by experts and edited by Lillie D. Shockney, this book provides practical real-world insights on oncology navigation and cancer care.

What You Need to Know About Breast Cancer Recurrence
In partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., AONN+ Program Director and Co-Founder Lillie D. Shockney has created an eBook that provides answers about breast cancer recurrence.
Hematology Navigation 101

ACCC's Financial Advocacy Boot Camp
National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center Toolkit: Provider Tools
National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center Toolkit: Patient Tools
Metastatic Breast Cancer: Effective Principles & Practices in Patient Support Workbook NEW
The Guiding Light Between Shorelines: A Resource, Education, and Support Guide for Patients and Their Families Living With Advanced Cancers NEW
Roadmap to Peer Support NEW

Cancer Survivorship E-Learning Series for Primary Care Providers
Patient Intake Assessment Tool
Health Literacy: From Assessment to Action
What Does a Patient Navigator Do?

AONN+ Navigation Metrics Superheroes
These superheroes represent the 8 domains which encompass the AONN+ standardized navigation metrics and should help navigators to better understand the basis behind each domain and the skills necessary to provide quality patient care and financial stability for their organizations.

Educating the Health Care Team on the Roles and Responsibilities of Navigators and Support Staff
This tool is intended to educate their physicians, office staff, and other departments on the role of the navigator and oncology support staff. It can be customized to reflect your cancer program’s structure and its navigation and support staff responsibilities.
Author: Tricia Strusowski, MS, RN
ACCC's Health Literacy Gap Assessment Tool

Navigation Orientation Checklist and Annual Competencies
Navigators upon hire have varied backgrounds and require an orientation and annual review of national guidelines/standards, core competencies, reports/metrics, just to name a few. These documents contain all the key elements that need to be included in a navigator’s orientation and annual competencies.
Navigation Tracking Sheet for Weekly Rounds

GW Cancer Center’s Executive Training on Navigation and Survivorship

GW Cancer Center’s Oncology Patient Navigator Training: The Fundamentals
Cancer Care Coordination Questionnaire for Patients
Provider Education on Patient Navigation
The AONN+ Navigation Metrics Subcommittee created a Provider Educational Fact Sheet to help educate physicians and their office staff on the role of the navigator.
Authors: Nicole Messier, BSN, RN, OCN; Beth High, MSN, OCN, CBCN, CN-BN; Linda Burhansstipanov, MSPH, DrPH; Tricia Strusowski, MS, RN