Nurse Navigator

The Cancer & Hematology Centers•Grand Rapids, MI

13d•Onsite

About The Position

The Nurse Navigator is a registered nurse with oncology expertise who coordinates and guides patients through the cancer care continuum. The role provides patient-centered education, triage, and care coordination, helping patients understand their diagnosis, treatment options, appointments, financial resources, and support services. The Nurse Navigator provides care management services to reduce barriers to safe, timely, and compassionate multidisciplinary outpatient oncology care. This is a full-time position at the Kenmoor clinic, scheduled for three 10-hour shifts between Monday and Friday, with working hours from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Cancer & Hematology Centers provides cancer care through a team of physicians and support professionals, including oncology-certified nurses, social workers, laboratory and pharmacy personnel, and a psychologist. Its stated mission is to offer help, healing, hope, advanced treatments, innovative research, and compassionate care close to home.

Requirements

Licensed Registered Nurse in the State of Michigan.
Oncology Certified Nurse certification, or ability to acquire it within one year of employment.
ONS Chemotherapy/Biotherapy Provider Card, or ability to acquire it within six months of employment.
Michigan Institute for Care Management and Transformation (MICMT) training, or ability to acquire it within 60 days of employment.
BLS certification, or ability to acquire it within 90 days of employment.
Successful completion of the company's competency-based orientation program.
Working knowledge of outpatient oncology treatment pathways, symptom management, patient education, and triage principles.
Strong communication, patient teaching, interdisciplinary coordination, and clinic-priority management skills.
Experience with electronic health records, scheduling and referral workflows, and documentation standards in an ambulatory setting.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced outpatient environment with attention to timeliness, accuracy, and patient service.

Nice To Haves

Two to three years of nursing experience with exposure to nurse navigation, ambulatory oncology operations, infusion services, or multidisciplinary cancer clinic coordination is preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary clinical contact for patients, families, and caregivers at consultation and during transition to treatment, including surveillance.
Coordinate diagnostic work-ups, treatment starts, and follow-up visits across ambulatory oncology services, including infusion, radiation oncology, surgery, imaging, genetics, and specialty referrals.
Collaborate with physicians, advanced practice providers, infusion nurses, pharmacists, social workers, dietitians, financial counselors, and community resources.
Educate patients about their diagnosis, treatment plan, chemotherapy or immunotherapy, symptom reporting, side-effect management, and clinic workflows.
Support timely prior authorizations, referrals, retrieval of outside records, and coordination of tests or procedures to avoid delays in care.
Identify and help address barriers to treatment adherence, including transportation, financial concerns, scheduling challenges, language access, and psychosocial needs.
Track patient progress through key ambulatory milestones and document navigation interventions, education, and outcomes in the electronic health record.
Conduct ongoing assessments and telephone triage to identify urgent symptoms or changes in condition and promptly escalate them to the appropriate provider.
Participate in care management services by coordinating continued follow-up, supporting high-risk patients, promoting treatment adherence and symptom management, conducting proactive outreach, and ensuring interdisciplinary team collaboration.
Partner with Nursing Leadership on quality improvement activities, navigation metrics, patient experience initiatives, and workflow optimization.