On Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, Karmanos Cancer Institute and McLaren Health Care oncology navigation team members came together at the McLaren Hospitality House in Flint for the Inaugural Oncology Navigator Retreat. The event brought together a diverse group of patient navigators, oncology navigators, nurse navigators, financial counselors, and social work navigators across the McLaren system to share insights about their work, learn from one another, and discuss ways to enhance patient care moving forward.
The day began with a warm welcome and a networking icebreaker. The first presenter, April Brown, director of Concierge Services at the Karmanos Cancer Center, introduced the retreat's main topics.
The retreat focused on providing all oncology navigators with an opportunity to collaborate and strategize the best ways to ensure the standardization of care across the McLaren system. Attendees could interact with counterparts from other McLaren locations through breakout sessions, networking moments, a group lunch, and panel discussions.
“Depending on where they work, some of these navigators haven’t had the opportunity to interact with their counterparts at different locations,” said Brown, who worked along with a committee across the system to put on the retreat. “Giving everyone the opportunity to get to know each other while standardizing and reinforcing our process will be valuable for all of us in the long run.”
Throughout the day, several informative presentations were also given on various relevant topics, including the oncology service line, tools for best practices, mindfulness strategies, and more. Each presentation was a chance for the attendees to learn more about how they can be successful in their positions, elevate those around them, and assist their patients through their cancer fight and healing journey.
Navigators are patients' direct line of communication. Sometimes, having a compassionate and helpful navigator can make all the difference for a patient.
When asked about what she learned at this event and her favorite part of being an oncology navigator, Shontrese Sanders replied, “One thing I took away from today is that knowledge is power. And I'm leaving here with a boatload of resources.”
Sanders is a patient navigator in Detroit. She works closely with the head and neck cancer and otolaryngology patients.
“Helping patients—my favorite part—the reward of helping the family members and the patients. I try to make them feel like my only patient,” said Sanders.
While the continued effort to standardize care across the system may have been the primary objective of this retreat, the collaborative resources and networking opportunities it provided helped all attendees walk away with new connections.
“I think it's very helpful for me to find out what everybody else does and who I can lean on when I need it,” said Valerie Kalinin, patient navigator. Kalinin works with breast cancer patients at Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Oakland.
“I also think it's going to be helpful to standardize and know that there are other locations that are going to do the same thing for these patients if they need it.”
The day wrapped up with breakout sessions, closing remarks, and a survey about everyone’s thoughts on the day. This retreat will not be the last, and each attendee's response indicated that they would like to meet with their fellow oncology patient navigators more often. The committee is already planning additional retreats, including meetings for specific cancer types and general discussions, to help move standardization and best practices across the system forward.