AONN+ Blog

In April, Leadership members Emily Gentry and Jordan Henderson, AONN+ Director of Program Development, traveled to San Antonio to represent AONN+ at the annual Oncology Nursing Society’s annual Congress. They came back refreshed, reenergized, and full of new ideas for AONN+.

The opportunity to attend the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) annual meeting is a highlight for many AONN+ members. This year, Emily Gentry and Monica Dean, Director of Patient Navigation Program Development, represented AONN+’s Leadership team at ASCO.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) Cancer Action Network (CAN) held its 12th Annual Conference in Washington, DC, on May 10 with a focus on oncology patient navigation sustainability. A series of robust panel discussions that included representation from AONN+ leaders both past and present took place.

Throughout May and June, Sharon Gentry has had several opportunities to see our LNN members “in action,” presenting at national and local meetings. In addition to highlighting the importance of navigation on a grander stage, these interactions serve a secondary goal by providing Sharon with the chance to hear and learn about the specific activities and challenges of each group—information she then brings back to AONN+ leadership for future planning.

Following a cancer diagnosis, a person will meet with a host of healthcare professionals. And while most are familiar with the roles of a doctor, surgeon, or nurse, the role of a navigator may be somewhat new. Jordan Henderson recently collaborated with Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) to develop educational materials to help patients understand the role of the navigator in their breast cancer care.

On May 8, 2023, Monica Dean, AONN+’s Director of Patient Navigation Program Development, had the opportunity to speak to the first graduating class of Georgia Gwinnett College’s patient navigation degree program. In this piece, she reflects upon the experience.

This year, the Navegación de Pacientes Internacional (NPI) hosted their first International Patient Navigation Congress to help combine regional efforts to expand the implementation of Patient Navigation in Latin America. AONN+ was honored to speak on 2 panels: Digital Database Solutions for Patients, and Patient Navigator Training and Certification. Additionally, for AONN+’s work to educate and empower oncology nurses and patient navigators, NPI recognized the Academy with an Outstanding Leadership Award.

Read on for more information about each panel and the award.

We’re kicking off this new miniseries with Sharon Gentry, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, AOCN, CBCN, AONN+ Program Director. Recently, we sat down with Sharon to ask her a few questions about her navigation journey and the ways in which she enjoys helping AONN+ members. We invite you to read what she shared.

Danielle Brown, MBA, RN, OCN, CN-BN, Director of Care Coordination for Florida Cancer Specialist, shares her thoughts on what ‘good,’ admirable leadership looks like in the field of navigation. Her heartwarming membership blog contribution explains how having people who believed in her and mentored her throughout her career has instilled a lifelong lesson in her to do the same for others.

As the ultimate collaborators, navigators have the unique ability to optimize patient outcomes and reduce disparities in care. In this article, Julie McMahon explains how the navigator can leverage his/her collaborative power at both the team and organizational level.