Over 400 oncology navigators discussed the advancement of their profession and availed themselves of educational and networking opportunities at the Third Annual Navigation and Survivorship Conference held in Phoenix, Arizona, September 14-16, 2012. This conference, the official national meeting of the Academy of Oncology Nurse Navigators (AONN), has been increasing in size and scope since its inception.
The conference enables navigators to connect with one another about best practices and discover how other participants established navigation programs at their institutions. New to this year’s conference were more tracks, including sessions for administrators and sessions on survivorship. The conference also addressed the challenges of program improvement; the role of personalized medicine; and ways to implement best practices in navigation, survivorship, and psychosocial care. Continuing education credits were available for registered nurses and for social workers.
As cochairs for this year’s conference, Sharon Gentry, RN, MSN, AOCN, CBCN, Derrick L. Davis Forsyth Regional Cancer Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Lillie D. Shockney, RN, BS, MAS, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, welcomed the attend - ees, introduced each day’s sessions, moderated discussions, presented at one of the general sessions, and concluded the conference. Ms Shockney is also the inaugural director for the program.
The Fourth Annual Navigation and Survivorship Conference will be held November 15-17, 2013, in Memphis, Tennessee. In-depth coverage of the material presented here is also available at www.AONNonline.org.