WORKFORCE: What is a nurse navigator?

Nurse navigators are different from patient advocates are different from case managers are different from disease managers.  This scholarly article provides some help in defining the role of the nurse navigator — a role that hones in on timeliness and effectiveness of care provided (usually to cancer patients, but increasingly to other types of patients as well).  The article reports the findings of a survey of nurse executives in Texas hospitals.  Of the 76 nurse execs who filled out the survey, about one-quarter reported having one or more nurse navigators at their hospitals.

• The first hospital to have nurse navigators?  Harlem Hospital (NY).  The role was developed by Dr. Harold Freeman in 1990.

Source: The presence and roles of nurse navigators in acute care hospitals.  JONA. The Journal of Nursing Administration;43(11):592-596, Nov. 2013.  Click here for access to article: http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/Static-Pages/The-Presence-and-Roles-of-Nurse-Navigators-in-Acut Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org