Oncology Nurse Navigation: Delivering Patient-Centered Care Across the Continuum

Patient navigation had its inception in Harlem in 1990 as an intervention designed to diminish the exceedingly high breast cancer mortality rate in a population of poor African American women. The combined interventions of breast cancer screening and navigation from the point of abnormal finding to timely treatment increased the five-year survival rate from 39% to 70%. Today, nurse navigation is a growing field in health care in general and in oncology in particular. Although navigators come from a variety of backgrounds, including laypeople and social workers, oncology nurses are especially well-equipped to help patients find their way through the difficult healthcare system and receive the best possible care. The first book focusing on oncology nurses as navigators, Oncology Nurse Navigation provides you with an in-depth review of the emerging specialty of oncology nursing navigation. Oncology nurse navigators can positively affect patients cancer treatment experiences for the patients, families, and providers. This new book offers you a blueprint for developing your own navigation program, tips for running a successful program in your institution, and real-world examples from navigator programs in various settings and serving a variety of patient populations.