Anybody who’s gone by the most cancers journey can inform you: It’s not simply the therapy that’s arduous to undergo. Whilst you’re making an attempt to handle signs and survive, you’re additionally paying payments, making appointments, and getting groceries. Coping with a job and household, on high of the medical particulars, can take an enormous emotional toll. That’s the place a most cancers nurse navigator is available in.
Most hospital techniques have a nurse navigator, together with UVA Well being. The position helps most cancers sufferers arrange their healthcare. However now we’re taking it a step additional. We’re rolling out a nurse navigator program that provides personalized help for every most cancers sort.
Cancers behave in a wide range of methods. That’s why medical doctors deal with totally different cancers. With this enhanced program, navigators additionally deal with particular cancers. This permits them to offer customized steering. They know find out how to assist the affected person perceive their situation and what comes subsequent.
Catherine Terrell, RN, medical and operational director with the UVA Most cancers Heart, shared with us how this new program will make a distinction in sufferers’ lives.
What’s a nurse navigator?
Nurse navigators are affected person guides. They assist sufferers perceive their prognosis, therapy choices, and potential unwanted effects. In addition they assist with scheduling appointments, coordinating care, and managing the challenges of most cancers. The nurse navigator actually is a connection level between the affected person and the bigger well being system.
Why is UVA Most cancers Heart increasing its nurse navigator program?
As an NCI-designated Complete Most cancers Heart, we attempt to scale back the burden of most cancers for sufferers throughout Virginia. A part of that features enhancing the affected person expertise from no matter strategy we will.
We now have a number of a long time of analysis displaying the worth of navigators. The American Most cancers Society says 91% of sufferers worth having a navigator.
At UVA Well being, we’ve had a breast most cancers nurse navigator and a radiology nurse navigator for a few years. They do a improbable job. However we wished to broaden that care to each most cancers sort. By having most cancers navigators who concentrate on every most cancers sort, we provide a extremely customized stage of care. This units us other than most different hospitals.
Do nurse navigators have particular coaching?
Most cancers Nurse Navigators by the Numbers:
24 hours – the time from referral to contact
3 days – 1st appointment scheduled
10 enterprise days – 1st appointment occurs
How lengthy the navigator stays with you? For the entire journey, nonetheless lengthy it takes.
Sure. Our program is predicated on the perfect practices and requirements set by the Oncology Nursing Society. This implies we be certain that the navigators have the information and coaching to:
- Educate sufferers and assist them make knowledgeable selections
- Work with medical doctors to make the care course of easy
- Give emotional help to sufferers and households
How does a most cancers affected person get a navigator?
Nurse navigators attain out to sufferers inside 24 hours of a referral. Inside 3 days, they’ve a extra in-depth dialog and get their first physician appointment scheduled.
Want Help Throughout Most cancers Therapy?
UVA Well being provides counseling, help teams, vitamin, monetary assist, and extra.
What occurs throughout that first name?
The navigator gives basic training on the affected person’s prognosis. In addition they discover out key issues that might impression the affected person’s capacity to get care, like:
Doing this helps us arrange a help system for the affected person. This might embrace:
The navigator’s job is to uncover and help something that will get in the best way of a most cancers affected person getting the therapy they want.
Do sufferers should pay for a most cancers nurse navigator?
No. Sufferers should not answerable for paying out of pocket for a nurse navigator.
What occurs subsequent?
We’re presently in section 1 of our nurse navigator mannequin. This consists of well timed entry to care and eradicating obstacles to care. We’ll broaden this system in section 2 to incorporate the nurse navigator staying with every of their sufferers all through their complete most cancers journey. They may function a single level of contact, from prognosis to survivorship or palliative care. This may give sufferers constant help and steering.
