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TOPIC:

INCREASING NURSING STUDENTS AWARENESS OF THE NURSE

NAVIGATORS ROLE ALONG THE CONTINUUM OF CANCER CARE

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SUBMITTED BY:
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AUTHOR:
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WHEREAS,

WHEREAS,

New Jersey Nursing Students, Inc. (NJNS)

Anam Khan
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body (Cooper,
2000), and the focus of cancer care is continually shifting from acute and
palliative care, to ongoing, chronic care; and
the continuum of cancer care ranges from prevention to end of life,
including survivorship (McCorkle et al., 2011), which involves the areas
of surveillance, intervention for sequelae and treatment of disease, and
care coordination (Phillips & Currow, 2010); and

WHEREAS,

since its creation in the 1990s, nurse navigators have increased continuity
of care and care coordination for patients with cancer, and improved the
rates of follow-up screenings, particularly in underprivileged communities
(Fiscella & Hendren, 2013); and

WHEREAS,

the nurse navigator is in a position to improve the individual

experience of care, improve the health of populations, and
reduce the per capita costs of care for population
(Berwick, Nolan, & Whittington, 2008); and care coordination is the
basis of providing quality, affordable health services
(National Quality Forum, 2010); and

WHEREAS,

WHEREAS,

uncoordinated care may account for increased drug, medical, Medicare,

and/or Medicaid costs for patients compared with those who received care
coordination. Thus, care coordination can reduce costs in both the private
and public sectors by several billion dollars (Camica et al. (2012); and
underprivileged, uninsured, and socio-economically disadvantaged,
minority, and low income patients are less likely to receive cancer
treatment than white, high-income, insured patients, and the role of the
nurse navigator is to bridge these barriers to care in order to optimize
results by detecting cancer earlier and thereby decreasing the exorbitant
expense of treating patients with late-stage cancer (Patient Navigation
Research Program, 2008); and

WHEREAS,

WHEREAS,

RESOLVED,

RESOLVED,

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through education, advocacy, and support, nurse navigators maximize

patients participation in, and comprehension of, their care and facilitate
access to community resources, thereby removing barriers to care, and
increasing quality, cost effectiveness, and compliance (Braun et al., 2012;
Campbell et al., 2010; Gabitova & Burke, 2014). Nurse navigation along
the continuum of cancer care has resulted in fewer emergency department
visits and a reduction in unnecessary office visits (Antonelli et al., 2008;
Camicia et al., 2013); and
the field and scope of the nurse navigator is still undefined (Braun et al.,
2012), and this role is currently undertaken by a variety of individuals,
including nurses, social workers, and laypeople (Pedersen & Hack, 2010);
and there are concerns that need to be addressed in measuring the costs of
RN care coordination using a nurse navigator as well as the potential and
actual benefits of this service (Camicia et al., 2013); therefore be it
that the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA) support nursing
students increased awareness of the role of the nurse navigator along the
continuum of cancer care and assist in defining the role of the nurse
navigator in order to standardize programs, certification, training,
evaluation, job description, and reimbursement, (Braun et al., 2012); and
be it further
that the NSNA send a copy of this resolution to the American Nurses
Association, National League of Nursing, National Association of School
Nurses, Academy of Oncology Nurse Navigators, National Association of
Clinical Nurse Specialists, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners,
Emergency Nurses Association, Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses,
American Cancer Society Research Department, and all others deemed
appropriate by the NSNA Board of Directors.

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References

Antonelli, R. C., Stille, C. J., & Antonelli, D. M. (2008). Care coordination for children and
youth with special health care needs: A descriptive, multisite study of activities,
personnel costs, and outcomes. Pediatrics, 122(1), e209-e216.

Berwick, D., Nolan, T., & Wittington, J. (2008). The triple aim: Care, health, and cost.

Health Affairs, 27(3), 759-769.

Braun, K. L., Kagawa-Singer, M., Holden, A. E. C., Burhansstipanov, L., Tran, J. H., Seals, B.
F., Ramirez, A. G. (2012). Cancer patient navigator tasks across the cancer
care continuum. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 23(1),
398413.

Camicia,M., Chamberlain,B., Finnie,R.R., Nalle,M., Lindeke,L.L., Lorenz,L., ,

McMenamin,P. (2013). The value of nursing care coordination: A white paper of
the American Nurses Association. Nurse Outlook, 61(6), 490-501.

Campbell, C., Craig, J., Eggert, J., & Bailey-Dorton, C. (2010). Implementing and
measuring the impact of patient navigation at a comprehensive community
cancer center. Oncology Nursing Forum, 37(1), 61. doi:10.1188/10.ONF.61-68

Cooper, G.M. (2000). The development and causes of cancer. In The Cell: A Molecular
Approach (2nd ed.). Sunderland: Sinauer Associates.

Fiscella, K., & Hendren, S. (2013). Patient navigation improves the care experience for
patients newly diagnosed with cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology,
32(1), 3-4.

Gabitova, G., & Burke, N. J. (2014). Improving healthcare empowerment through breast cancer
patient navigation: A mixed methods evaluation in a safety-net setting. BMC Health
Services Research, 14(1), 407. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-407.

McCorkle, R., Ercolano, E., Lazenby, M., Schulman-Green, D., Schilling, L. S., Lorig, K., &
Wagner, E. H. (2011). Self-management: Enabling and empowering patients living with
cancer as a chronic illness. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 61(1), 5062.
doi:10.3322/caac.20093.

National Quality Forum (2010). Quality connections: Care coordination. Retrieved from
http://www.qualityforum.org/Publications/2010/10/Quality_Connections_Care_
Coordination.aspx

Patient Navigation Research Program. (2008). Patient navigation: State of the art, or is it
science? Cancer, 113(8), 19992010. doi:10.1002/cncr.23815

Pedersen, A., & Hack, T. F. (2010). Pilots of oncology healthcare: A concept analysis of
the patient navigator role. Oncology Nursing Forum, 37(1), 55-60. doi:
10.1188/10.ONF55-60

Phillips, J. L., & Currow, D. C. (2010). Cancer as a chronic disease. Collegian, 17(2),
47-50. doi:10.1016/j.colegn.2010.04.007.

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Organizational Contact Information

American Nurses Association
8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 301-628-5000
Email: gova@ana.org (Federal and State lobbying)
National League of Nursing
61 Broadway, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10006
Phone: 212-363-5555
Email: facultyprograms@nln.org
National Association of School Nurses
Donna J. Mazyck
8484 Georgia Avenue, Suite 420, Silver Spring, MD, 20910
Phone: 240-821-1130
Email: nasn@nasn.org
Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists
Stephen Patten
100 North 20th Street, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone: 503-220-8262
Email: info@nacns.org
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
AANP National Administrative Office, PO Box 12846, Austin TX 78711
Phone: 512-442-4262

Email: admin@aanp.org
Emergency Nurses Association
Emergency Nurse Association Headquarters,
915 Lee St, Des Plaines, IL 60016
Phone: 847-460-4095 (Executive Office), 847-460-4123 (Educational Services)
Email: execoffice@ena.org, education@ena.org
Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses
East Holly Avenue Box 56, Pitman NJ 08071
Phone: 866-877-2676
Email: sdfights@gmail.com
American Cancer Society Research Department,
250 Williams Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30303-1002
Phone: 1-800-227-2345

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