A nurse navigator is a healthcare professional who acts as a patient advocate and helps patients navigate the healthcare system. They provide individualized assistance to patients, families, and caregivers to help overcome healthcare system barriers. Nurse navigators are most commonly found in oncology to help patients through their cancer diagnosis and individualized care plan. They assess clinical, emotional, spiritual, psychosocial, financial, and other patient needs and work closely with a multidisciplinary team to provide improved comprehensive services to patients. Some of the roles nurse navigators perform include:

• Providing expert education to patients about their diagnosis and treatments
• Connecting patients to community resources, such as support groups
• Equipping patients with information about other clinical options that may not be available locally
• Monitoring symptoms
• Coordinating patient care for an entire medical facility or a single department or medical specialty
• Managing a patients care from admission through discharge to ensure they receive the care they need during their stay

To become a nurse navigator, one must earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and have oncology-specific clinical knowledge. Nurse navigators must also have a standardized core set of competencies. Although working as a nurse navigator can be stressful and exhausting, many say the career gives them a sense of pride in their work and is an excellent fit for nurses who no longer want to work at the bedside but still want to provide one-on-one patient care.