Advanced Nursing Practice

All health care organizations are interested in improving patient outcomes, and an Oncology Nurse Navigation program offers an appealing means of doing so. Prompt and efficient diagnosis, education and treatment for oncology patients has been shown to decrease patient mortality, and increase cost effectiveness, increased patient satisfaction, and increased nursing staff collaboration. The American College of Surgeons accrediting body Commission on Cancer (CoC) oversees the development and interpretation of standards for cancer accredited programs. In the 2012 cancer program standards, the CoC implemented a mandatory phase in for patient navigation standards for all accredited programs by 2015 (FACS, 2012). The driving force behind the implementation of a navigation program is driven by a community needs assessment. In an effort to maintain and enhance the continuum of care services, an oncology nurse navigator needs assessment is implemented. Educating oncology nurses regarding the importance of removing barriers to patients care, increasing better patient preparedness, identification of service gaps, and more efficient use of clinical involvement with patients are the keys to establishing successful patient outcomes. NYU Winthrop Hospital (Winthrop) originally founded in 1896 by a group of local physicians and concerned citizens. Long Island's first voluntary hospital is a 591-bed university-affiliated medical center and New York State-designated Regional Trauma Center which offers sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic care in virtually every specialty and subspecialty of medicine and surgery. Winthrop is a major regional healthcare resource with a deep commitment to medical education and research, offering a full complement of inpatient and outpatient services. Today the hospital employs over 8,000 dedicated and caring individuals, including nearly 2,500 registered nurses, among them are seven oncology nurse navigators (ONN). NYU Winthrop Center for Cancer Care is a regional leader in clinical cancer care, offering a full complement of world-class inpatient and outpatient services. Winthrop is a recognized for expert and experienced staff that provides a broad spectrum of high-quality, multidisciplinary care options that focus on prevention, diagnosis, treatment and support services all carefully tailored to meet the unique, highly personal needs of each patient with a deep sense of compassion. Information

was collected regarding the employment setting and status of the ONN. Each ONN is distinguished by the cancer population they specialize in. Each title designation is based on the number of cancer patient in each category that is treated at Winthrop University Hospital. In 2016, Winthrop provided inpatient medical care for 38,082 men, women, and children. The Cancer Registry database contains demographic, diagnostic, treatment and follow-up data on all cancer cases seen at Winthrop. In 2016, there were a total of 3,120 cancer cases documented into the tumor registry and 2,668 newly diagnosed cancer patients who received their diagnosis and first course of treatment at Winthrop. Winthrop breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal / GI cancer, bladder cancers account for over half of all cancers seen at Winthrop thereby creating the need for a designated ONN to be assigned to each of those cancer categories (WUH, 2016). According to the literature, nurses are motivated to obtain additional education for a variety of reasons. The most common reason is to improve their practice and deliver the best possible and effective care to the cancer patient (ONS, 2012). Winthrop University Hospital’s support for Oncology Nurse Navigation program has allowed us to increase the level of cancer awareness to our community, gather resources to assist those people and enhance cancer patient survivorship.