Member's Memo
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN
Thank you to each member who participated in the regional meeting in Phoenix this spring. My favorite part of each conference is watching the interaction among the members. The term “navigation sponges” came to mind during the open microphone question sessions.
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN
Congratulations to Jo Weathers and her team in South Carolina for continuing to have a successful navigation support outreach in their area! They held 8 chapter local navigator network (LNN) meetings in 2016 and have grown from an initial gathering of 8 attendees to as many as 26 this year.
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN
Thank you for the tremendous response to the call for how navigators interact around tumor boards. The information progressed from those who are developing their role around this function to the very experienced member.
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN
The next several months are the peak time of year when people will be exposed to the sun. As such, navigators can help get the word out about prevention efforts against this potentially deadly form of skin cancer.
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN
A special thank you to the thoracic nurse navigators who came forward to create the thoracic certification examination. It is a sign of professional commitment and growth to volunteer for a task that will help one review their profession as well as learn something new such as test question development.
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN
This week, April 10-14, is National Tumor Registrars Week or National Cancer Registrars Week. A huge thank you and acknowledgement of all the work of cancer registrars that affect patient care and ways they help support the objectives of nurse navigation! Here's a major shout out to all our friends in this department!
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN
Most navigators will find transportation to be a major barrier to care no matter where they practice. The rural areas provide a distance challenge, the urban areas face missed bus connections and the suburban falls between the two. It is not surprising that 4 million patients miss appointments just because they don't have a ride each year.
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN
Many navigators have enjoyed the increased communication that electronic health records have delivered over the recent years. Prior to going live with our electronic medical record (EMR), our navigators had a read-only view and this encouraged consistent teaching along the care continuum as patients transitioned across the healthcare settings.
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN
The Patient Navigation Framework that delineated the roles of various navigators was used in developing competency statements for patient navigators. This standardized the oncology patient navigator role and led to training on the competencies as well as certification.
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN
A recent writing adventure revealed how proud each one of you should be as patient navigation has evolved over the last decade as a new health care delivery support strategy. And you have been a part of it by answering surveys, writing articles about evidence based practice, attending conferences, participating on project teams, sharing best practices as well as challenging leaders for more information on navigation.
