Patient Navigation

Nurse Navigator - JoEllen Ross is a nurse navigator at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and shares the personal impact that this experience has brought, "My work as a breast nurse navigator brings me great joy and pleasure.  Helping patients at such a vulnerable time in their life with the knowledge they need to understand their diagnosis, treatment ahead, and give them the resources available to give them back some control of their situation is very rewarding. When my patients say thank you for always returning their calls, being there to help them sort through decision making, and overall support, it brings a smile to my face, for I know I have fulfilled my role as a nurse navigator."

Cancer Patient Navigator - Aida Vizcaino, who works at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), shares their experience as a cancer patient navigator, "Working as a cancer navigator at MGH is rewarding being able to help people obtain and feel supportive during a difficult time and made their journey a little easier and feel a helping hand."

Cancer Patient Navigator - Christina Ho is a cancer patient navigator at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Due to her fluency in English and various dialects of Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, Toisanese), she works with Chinese patients who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, in order to make sure they fully understand their care options. According to fellow coworkers, “She is able to work through complex cultural and linguistic barriers to ensure that our patients receive the most optimal care and that any questions or concerns they may have are clearly answered.”

Cancer and Specialty Patient Navigator - Daniel Ramos is a cancer and specialty patient navigator at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) branch located in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He has been a patient navigator since 2007, when he joined the Latino Gay Men’s Project at the Latin American Health Institute. The Latin American Health Institute works to, “promote the health of the community, its institutions, families and individuals. They provide social, clinical, health, HIV prevention, immigration and some housing programs.”

Patient Navigator - Stephanie Otis works at Boston Medical Center as a patient navigator. Otis has worked as a patient navigator since October 2017. This is her first job out of college. After seeing a job listing for a PN she knew she wanted to be part of such a unique position which blended her interests of public health and social work. The most rewarding part about being a PN is the position's meaningful way it addresses the social determinants of health with underserved populations traditionally left out of the healthcare system.