Sharon Francz, LPN, BSHA

Oncology nurse navigators (ONNs) provide individualized assistance to patients, families, and caregivers to help overcome healthcare system barriers and to facilitate timely access to quality medical and psychosocial care from pre-diagnosis through all phases of the cancer experience.

What are the functions of an oncology nurse navigator (ONN) and what are the expectations? Understanding the history of navigation is usually the best place to start when trying to describe the role of the ONN to a newcomer. Oncology nurse navigation, or patient navigation, is not a new role in the healthcare field.