RN Navigator - Methodist Oncology Navigation

Carle Health•Peoria, IL

About The Position

Oncology Nurse Navigators provide resources, support, assessments, referrals, education, care coordination, and guidance throughout the cancer care continuum. They help patients navigate the healthcare system, promote communication between patients and providers, reduce barriers to care, and support timely delivery of quality cancer care. Navigators monitor patients from screening through treatment and survivorship, helping patients, survivors, and families make informed decisions and connect with appropriate care and resources. The role works with diverse and complex patients, families, healthcare professionals, and community resources. It uses the nursing process and Oncology Nursing Society standards of practice to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate care. The navigator coordinates services with a multidisciplinary team, supports patient education and adherence, monitors program outcomes, contributes to quality improvement, and maintains appropriate documentation and tracking records.

Requirements

College diploma in Nursing.
Licensed Registered Professional Nurse (RN) through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).
Basic Life Support (BLS) certification from the American Heart Association (AHA) within 30 days.
The posting lists no specific work experience requirements.

Responsibilities

Educate and support patients, families, caregivers, healthcare professionals, colleagues, and the community about cancer and the oncology nurse navigator role.
Serve as a primary patient contact and advocate, provide support across the cancer continuum, and act as a liaison among patients, families, caregivers, and the healthcare team.
Assess patients’ understanding of their disease and treatment options, support informed decisions and treatment goals, and reinforce education about treatment, care plans, symptom management, survivorship, and adherence.
Develop oncology-related education materials and maintain awareness of clinical trials, molecular testing criteria, and genetic counseling.
Discuss physician visits with patients and families to assess understanding, clarify information, and answer questions.
Provide information about available services, community resources, and support groups; facilitate or participate in support groups, family programs, health fairs, screenings, and community education as appropriate.
Contact patients at diagnosis and other designated touch points, and follow them according to navigator- or facility-specific guidelines.
Coordinate timely care throughout the cancer continuum with the multidisciplinary team, including scheduling diagnostic and treatment services and survivorship, hospice, or palliative care as appropriate.
Communicate with providers and ancillary departments to resolve care-delivery issues, coordinate follow-up, ensure timely test-result delivery, and support continuity of care.
Accompany patients to appointments when appropriate and provide clarification and literacy-level-appropriate education related to visits.
Support transition to survivorship care or primary care and connect patients to prevention services after active cancer treatment.
Provide telephone triage for symptoms, emotional support, education, and resource referrals.
Help identify patients for Tumor Board, gather information for presentation, participate in disease-specific tumor conferences, and follow up on recommendations.
Assess patient needs and barriers using appropriate screening and assessment tools, make referrals to relevant clinical and community services, and help address access, financial, insurance, and other barriers to care.
Maintain a comprehensive database of local, regional, and national resources and provide resources in a timely manner based on individual needs.
Support patients with advance directives, palliative care, and end-of-life concerns.
Perform data entry, prepare reports, track metrics and outcomes, maintain disease-site dashboards, and document patient interactions, diagnostic testing, treatments, referrals, and non-compliance in the appropriate systems.
Participate in cancer committee, interdisciplinary meetings, and other meetings; report navigation outcomes to stakeholders and collaborate with other navigators to share best practices.
Assist with navigation program assessment, identify process-improvement opportunities, develop action plans, and implement and monitor quality-improvement initiatives.
Pursue continuing education, maintain current oncology and navigation knowledge, contribute to professional organizations, presentations, publications, and research, and evaluate one's own practice.
Perform job duties in an organized and time-conscious manner and develop collaborative relationships internally and externally.