Anybody who’s gone by means of the most cancers journey can inform you: It’s not simply the remedy that’s onerous to undergo. When you’re attempting 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 programs have a nurse navigator, together with UVA Well being. The function helps most cancers sufferers manage their healthcare. However now we’re taking it a step additional. We’re rolling out a nurse navigator program that provides personalized assist for every most cancers sort.
Cancers behave in quite a lot of methods. That’s why medical doctors concentrate on completely different cancers. With this enhanced program, navigators additionally concentrate on particular cancers. This enables them to offer customized steerage. They know methods 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 analysis, remedy choices, and potential unwanted side effects. Additionally 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 method we will.
We’ve 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 incredible job. However we needed to increase that care to each most cancers sort. By having most cancers navigators who focus on every most cancers sort, we provide a extremely customized degree 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 ensure the navigators have the data and coaching to:
- Educate sufferers and assist them make knowledgeable decisions
- Work with medical doctors to make the care course of easy
- Give emotional assist 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 affords counseling, assist teams, diet, monetary assist, and extra.
What occurs throughout that first name?
The navigator gives normal schooling on the affected person’s analysis. Additionally they discover out key issues that might impression the affected person’s capacity to get care, like:
Doing this helps us arrange a assist system for the affected person. This might embrace:
The navigator’s job is to uncover and assist something that will get in the best way of a most cancers affected person getting the remedy they want.
Do sufferers should pay for a most cancers nurse navigator?
No. Sufferers are usually not answerable for paying out of pocket for a nurse navigator.
What occurs subsequent?
We’re at the moment in part 1 of our nurse navigator mannequin. This consists of well timed entry to care and eradicating boundaries to care. We are going to increase this system in part 2 to incorporate the nurse navigator staying with every of their sufferers all through their total most cancers journey. They may function a single level of contact, from analysis to survivorship or palliative care. It will give sufferers constant assist and steerage.