Authors

1Blanca Larrea Leoz, 2Pilar Pérez Rojo, 3Ana Carvajal Valcárcel

Position

¹Enfermera. Área de Tumores Hepatobiliopancreáticos. Clínica Universitaria de Navarra.²Enfermera. Consulta de Alto Riesgo y Prevención de Tumores Digestivos. Clínica Universitaria de Navarra.³Doctora en Enfermería. Facultad de Enfermería. Universidad de Navarra.

Contact address

Blanca Larrea Leoz. Avda. Pío XII, 36. 31008 Pamplona (Navarra).

Contact email: blarreal@unav.es

Abstract

Introduction: patients with pancreatic cancer must face complex and varied processes, where multiple professionals are involved. The figure of a nurse to coordinate this process plays a key role in order to facilitate patient management and care throughout their disease.
Objective: to probe into the awareness of the Nurse Navigator role, their responsibilities, impact on healthcare, and development in Spain.   
Methodology: a narrative review of literature was conducted in the PubMed and CINAHL databases, and in Academic Google, including articles published between 1995 and 2013. The following were used as key words in English: patient navigation; nurse navigator; patient care; pancreatic cancer, and in Spanish: enfermera coordinadora; enfermera gestora; enfermera de enlace.
Results: twenty-five (25) articles addressing this subject were found. The “enfermera coordinadora” or Patient Navigator is a novel role in our national setting, which has appeared at the same time as different health needs. Their main characteristic is to have diverse competencies in terms of management, patient care and research. This has a positive impact on patient satisfaction, but its impact on survival aspects is still unknown.
Conclusions: this role is in increasing development, and the benefits of their intervention in order to address the complexity of these patients’ process must be highlighted, by coordinating and assisting in the multidisciplinary care they require.

Keywords:

Nurse Navigator; Nurse Manager; oncology patient; pancreatic cancercase management

Versión en Español

Título:

Papel de la enfermera coordinadora en el área de tumores hepatobiliopancreáticos