Dear Navigators,
On behalf of all of us at the Journal of Oncology Navigation & Survivorship (JONS) and the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+), I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.
At the onset of a new year, each of us traditionally takes a personal inventory and sets goals for ways to improve ourselves, our circumstances, our lives. This ritual is important to our personal growth. Today, I encourage you to not only take inventory of your personal life, but of your professional life as well. Are there ways in which you can be more effective, impact patient care in a more meaningful way, and improve patients’ experiences?
Last year, AONN+ put forth our highly anticipated work of navigation metrics to demonstrate the true value of navigation. I hope you agree that the time is right for you to implement, track, and report on some metrics for the betterment of the navigation profession.
This simple resolution will not only improve your professional life, it will also translate to more awareness of the impact you have on promoting a positive patient experience, return on investment of navigation programs, and ultimately, improved clinical outcomes.
Not confident in your ability to use the metrics? I recently returned from the annual AONN+ conference where the buzz was all about the next step in implementing the 35 evidence-based metrics. In this issue, you’ll read about next steps in the metrics initiative as well as summaries of our other educational and informative presentations.
Thank you for your membership in the Academy, your loyal readership of JONS, and your resolve to join us in the cause of improving patients’ lives through navigation.
Sincerely,
Lillie D. Shockney, RN, BS, MAS, ONN-CG
Editor-in-Chief, JONS; Program Director, AONN+
University Distinguished Service Professor of Breast Cancer; Administrative Director, the Johns Hopkins Breast Center; Director, Cancer Survivorship Programs at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins; Professor, JHU School of Medicine, Depts of Surgery and Oncology; Cofounder, Johns Hopkins Medicine Managing Cancer at Work.
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