Oncology Patient Navigator

POSITION SUMMARY:

Under the supervision of the Cancer Program Patient Navigation Manager, the Cancer Patient Navigator is responsible for providing education, patient advocacy, cancer care treatment coordination, and support service integration to cancer patients who are receiving or have received treatment at Boston Medical Center. The expected responsibilities for this position involve developing a service plan for patients based on identified barriers to care, facilitating access to resources in the community and at Boston Medical Center, monitoring and assisting with the patient's progress and appointment schedule, and staying in frequent communication with the patient's care team to ensure seamless transition of care between specialties. This position is also responsible for documentation in the electronic medical record and complying with all data entry, data integrity, and data tracking requirements for Boston Medical Center and funding entity's contract monitoring reports. Additionally, this position is expected to participate in community events and BMC Support Group services events throughout the year, with these services possibly occurring outside of normal business hours.

Position: Oncology Patient Navigator

Department: Cancer Care General Use Fund

Schedule: Full Time

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES / DUTIES:

1) Clinical Responsibilities/Assessment:

* Reviews medical information and coordinates with the medical team to understand each patient's treatment plan, unique needs and barriers to care.
* Assesses patient and family to ascertain emotional and social problems, and identifies barriers to care, and formulates plan.
* Empowers patients by linking them to a broad range of services, including, but not limited to; financial assistance, housing, food resources, transportation services, BMC Cancer Center support group services, social work, and appropriate community resources.
* Proficient in extracting pertinent information from patients and appropriately reports patient symptoms or problems to clinical staff in a timely fashion.
* Attends regularly scheduled multi-disciplinary disease and Tumor Board meetings.

2) Addressing Needs

* Understands the multitude of services required to provide a comprehensive treatment plan for each patient undergoing treatment for cancer.
* Assists patients with medical insurance application process by referring patients to Boston Medical Center Patient Financial Services when appropriate. Ensures that patients have and maintain medical insurance for engagement in care
* Provides education, counsels, and supports patients with regard to cancer care, treatment plan and survivorship. Uses a variety of culturally, linguistically and educationally appropriate strategies, in a variety of settings. Coordinates with Interpreter Services, as needed.
* Consistently meets with patient and family/significant others throughout treatment to review treatment calendar and reinforce cancer support services.
* Facilitates the flow of information among patient, clinicians and other services.
* Oversees the implementation of each aspect of the patient's treatment plan, including confirming that each test, consultation, treatment visit and support service is appropriately scheduled in each medical discipline, along with providing support in coordination with the Cancer Center's supportive service offerings.
* Ensuring that all potential barriers are addressed including transportation, etc. have been arranged.
* Documents patient encounters, resource development efforts, and other interventions for each patient in the electronic medical record and other tracking systems used by the program.

3) Quality Assurance and Program Development:

* Provides feedback on quality improvement initiatives
* Complies with departmental, regulatory and contract requirements for documentation recording and data collection.
* Tracks new referrals, patient appointment schedule
* Participates in the development of and follows Standard Operating Procedures
* Maintains competency in areas of responsibility by participating in educational sessions throughout the year to ensure quality of care.
* Maintains strict protocols of all confidential or sensitive information
* Provides a link between the Cancer Center and other hospital departments.
* Adapts to changing departmental needs, including but not limited to, offering assistance to other team members, adjusting assignments, and other functions as determined by department leadership
* Assists in orientation/training of new staff members and volunteers.
* Provides coverage as needed for colleagues during time off
* Interfaces with all departments to ensure efficient and effective working relationships.
* Develops and maintains strong relationships with the community and resources to ensure patient access, and represents BMC and the Cancer Center at local networking meetings and community events.

4) Other Program Responsibilities:

* Participate in cancer community events and BMC Support Group services events throughout the year (Possibility of occurring in evening or weekend).
* Performs other duties assigned by Cancer Center leadership
* Identifies system deficiencies and seeks to fill those gaps in collaboration with the department leadership.

5) Meets hospital-wide standards in the following areas:

* Conforms to hospital standards of performance and conduct, including those pertaining to patient rights and privacy
* Utilizes hospital's cultural beliefs as the basis for decision making and to support the hospital's mission and goals.
* Follows established hospital infection control and safety procedures
* Remains knowledgeable of and follows appropriate policies, procedures, and work standards, including but not limited to, policy regarding hours of work, absenteeism, and tardiness.
* Promotes a positive and collaborative work environment supportive of the hospital's missions and goals.

Must adhere to all of BMC's RESPECT behavioral standards.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION:

Associate's Degree is required; Bachelor's Degree is preferred. Preference for highly preferred applicants who studied or worked in fields of social work, public health, psychology, sociology, biology/medicine or related field.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS REQUIRED:

N/A

EXPERIENCE:

Minimum of two years of relevant work experience, preferably in a health care or social services setting dealing with chronically ill patients or systemically underserved populations.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

* Exceptional knowledge of community, social, and health resources, particularly oncology-related resources and capable of researching new resources to meet unique patient needs
* Empathic understanding of chronically ill patients and skilled in performing multicultural needs assessments and developing concrete service plans.
* Bilingual or multi-lingual skills preferred (beyond that of English with preference for Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Portuguese Creole, Vietnamese)
* Culturally competent communication skills and able to work with colleagues and patients from diverse backgrounds
* Expertise in establishing working relationships with patients, their family, professionals, and the community, including the ability to collaborate with a multidisciplinary health care team.
* Highly proficient in computer skills with Microsoft Office and must be able to track information in Excel, utilize Word and Power Point to present and share information. Open to learning new technologies and databases.
* Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
* Effective verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills to facilitate interactions with various members of the health care team, patients, and their families.
* Demonstrated flexibility with client's priorities, evolving needs, and goals.
* Demonstrated critical thinking and problem solving ability.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans