Oncology Clinical RN Navigator

Employment Status: Full time, Day shift (United States of America)

About the Role

The Oncology Nurse Navigator is a licensed clinical professional who applies the nursing process to guide patients, families, and caregivers through the cancer continuum from diagnosis through treatment, survivorship, or end of life care. This role provides individualized, patient-centered support by assessing for clinical, psychosocial, financial, and logistical barriers to care and implementing interventions to reduce or eliminate those barriers.

The Oncology Nurse Navigator coordinates care across multidisciplinary teams and care settings to promote timely access to diagnosis and treatment, enhance continuity of care (including effective handoff communication during care transitions), and support adherence to evidence-based treatment plans. Through proactive communication, education, and advocacy, the navigator serves as a consistent point of contact, ensuring patients and families understand their care plan and can navigate complex healthcare systems.

This role partners closely with physicians, nursing, and ancillary services to improve care quality, patient experience, and clinical outcomes, while also identifying opportunities to enhance care delivery processes and reduce delays across the cancer care continuum. The Clinical RN Navigator uses clinical processes in decision-making, patient assessment, data analysis, development, and implementation of methods and systems to improve the overall quality and efficiency of patient care.

Responsibilities

• Offer individualized support across the continuum of care to patients, families, and caregivers to expedite care delivery and alleviate barriers.
• Coordinate care through interdisciplinary collaboration with a goal of delivering efficient care with optimal outcomes.
• Ensure ease of transition through various health settings during the patient's cancer journey.
• Organize, formulate, and coordinate a multi-disciplinary approach to the patient population for achievement of optimum outcomes.
• Collaborate with the clinical team to triage new patient referrals efficiently to ensure timely access to care.
• Assess, implement, and coordinate patient care plans.
• Screen referrals to ensure appropriate patient placement in programs.
• Ensure patients and family members understand the plan of care and respond to patient needs and concerns.
• Collaborate with the multidisciplinary care team to expedite the sequence of the patient’s workup, active treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life care.
• Provide communication, advocacy, and education.
• Assess and document patient needs, goals, and preferences to ensure they are integrated into treatment and care delivery.
• Research access to therapeutic clinical trials and communicate with patients, families, and investigators regarding therapeutic clinical trials, including patient-specific education.
• Plan, implement, and coordinate strategies through evidence-based practices to support quality patient care and improve outcomes.
• Evaluate barriers to care and collaborate with community resources to eliminate barriers.
• Coordinate patient education and provide resources for financial, legal, and social support.
• Serve as a liaison between department staff, patients and families, physicians, external vendors/partners to ensure a collaborative approach to care.
• Interact with staff, patients, families, visitors, members of the healthcare team, and external partners to develop, coordinate, and manage the plan of patient care.
• Encourage and empower patients to actively participate in decision-making about their treatment and care.
• Serve as an advocate for the patient, protector of patient’s rights, and provider of psychological/social/cultural support.
• Facilitate daily coordination of patient care.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited program in area of clinical specialty strongly preferred.
• 3 years of experience in a healthcare setting.
• Licensed/Registered in clinical specialty as required by the state of Virginia (e.g., Respiratory Therapy, Physical Therapy, Clinical Social Work, etc.). RN license preferred.
• BLS (Basic Life Support) certification required.

Skills

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, organizational ability, and initiative.
• Proven ability to understand medical terminology, problem-solving, and handling stressful situations professionally.
• Good team dynamic skills to facilitate change and achieve defined outcomes.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Leadership skills including staff education, preceptorship, patient education, and participation in process improvement initiatives.
• Ability to work autonomously and in a team environment.
• Delegation and critical thinking skills to provide quality service through a team-oriented, collaborative approach to patient care.
• Demonstrated role as a patient advocate, protector of patient’s rights, and provider of psychological/social/cultural support.
• Ability to tolerate stressful situations.
• Excellent interpersonal communication, customer service, and teamwork skills.
• Above-average organizational skills, ability to multi-task, and attention to detail.

Pay

Compensation Range: $69,721.60 - $104,582.40. Employee pay is based on a variety of factors, including qualifications, credentials, education, and prior work experience. The compensation range does not include benefits or pension plan.