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Module 3: Patient navigator roles & responsibilities
Patient navigator relationships
- Patients require empathy, compassion and an understanding of the cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds in the community. The ability to help patients depends on good communication and the ability to establish effective, trusting working relationships with patients. (We will look at developing patient relationships later.)
- Healthcare teams are important for facilitating and coordinating patient care. Build professional relationships with the healthcare team by learning about the role of each team members and by introducing yourself and your services.
- Resource providers are helpful to you and your patients. Navigators frequently work with individuals and organizations that provide patient services or resources (some of these may be part of your health care organization). These can include transportation services, counselors, language translators, hospice care workers or representatives who assist with financial support. Developing professional relationships with these individuals and organization representatives can make it easier for patients to get helpful assistance.
Building working relationships is only one important characteristic of patient navigators. Now let’s look at some others.
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