Research/Quality/Performance Improvement
Sharon S. Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN, Danelle Johnston, MSN, RN, HON-ONN, OCN, Tricia Strusowski, RN, MS
There is a gap in the literature regarding the key areas that measure the success of navigation programs: patient experience (PE), clinical outcomes (CO), and business performance or return on investment (ROI) metrics that will demonstrate the sustainability of navigation programs.
Seven AONN+ members want you to know about a membership benefit that you might have overlooked. Did you know that there is a committee whose business is to help you do quality improvement projects and other forms of research, regardless of your level of experience in these areas?
I became a nurse almost by coincidence, even as I realize it was meant to be.
My initial encounter with patients with cancer began at the end of my first year of nursing school. I was assigned to a medical–surgical floor, and was given a patient who had been newly diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer. It was 1975, and our community-based hospital was in the process of creating an oncology service line with the help of a new group of medical oncologists.
Quite often I am asked what constitutes “good” oncology care. Many people have their opinions; patients, doctors, allied medical professionals, and even health plan administrators like to weigh in on this issue. Those in the industry often use buzzwords—eg, quality, outcomes, and cost—interchangeably, but are they really the same? Unfortunately, no one seems to be in agreement on the answer. Most healthcare professionals know that good oncology care is essential, but without a set of unified standards or distinct definitions on how to measure good care, it is almost impossible for everyone to speak the same language.
Just like many other nurse navigators, there was a pivotal time in my life when I knew I wanted to dedicate my career to cancer. As a young, altruistic senior in college, I was set to attend medical school, become a surgeon (yes, this is what I really wanted to do) and save the world. Unfortunately, life does not always go as planned and you have to take these as opportunities to truly define who you are and what path you will follow.
From the time I was a young girl I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the “helping profession” and mix that with my love for the sciences.
My introduction to the world of cancer came when I was in college, via a phone call from my mother who was 3000 miles away. For weeks she had delayed calling my siblings and me to tell each of us that she had ovarian cancer, until she was having a good day when the chemotherapy was not wreaking havoc. Not wanting to worry us, she made a joke about the quickest way to lose weight was to have a hysterectomy. Then 20 years later, she told us she had early-stage breast cancer. I had matured enough and learned enough to insist that I visit to see how I could support her and my dad as they managed this second cancer. Remarkably, 10 years later at 84, my mom is still leading an engaged, vital life. And I am working in cancer advocacy as a lay navigator.
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