Within the structure of a center-wide patient access redesign initiative, the nurse navigators evaluated their contributions and activities as professional registered nurses. They noticed a lack of standard interview questions and a patient referral process that holistically supported patients.

One of Alessandra’s patients lives more than 100 miles from the cancer center in an isolated region with limited access to specialty cancer care. When a visit to the cancer center was necessary, the patient had a 2- to 4-hour commute, depending on the location of the scheduled treatment.

Navigators at the Miami Cancer Institute (MCI) have built a successful navigation program database to track patient care delivery and report metrics, according to Morgan Nestingen, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, NEA-BC, OCN, ONN-CG, director of Nursing, Patient Intake and Navigation Services at MCI.

This study conducted psychometric analyses to validate companion scales entitled the QUeering Individual and Relational Knowledge Scale (QUIRKS)-Provider and QUIRKS-Patient for providers and patients, respectively.