I was combing through my connections on LinkedIn recently, when I noticed a former colleague’s job title had changed.

Since I always tell my nurse entrepreneur clients that they should never stop networking, I took my own advice and fired off a congratulatory email.

My contact wrote back and said she was excited about the new position. I did what any good connector would do and suggested we meet for “virtual coffee” using my web meeting platform.

We met and in the process of getting caught up, I explained my efforts to expand my consulting business by offering blog coaching services. That conversation turned into a freelance job for me!

Traditionally, applying to a job meant making a cover letter and resume. In today’s digital age, this is fast becoming almost obsolete. Robert Hellmann, author of 

Advanced LinkedIn for Your Job Search, Business & Career

, relates that one of the most important job search trends is what he calls “the continuous job search.”

Unemployed people should maximize their social media use, he says, but the rest of us shouldn’t be slackers if we want to make sure we don’t miss out on opportunities. “It’s a lot of work,” Hellmann writes, “but you really have to keep your network active and constantly develop and expand it.”

Keeping track of your career used to be done privately in a file at home. Now social media platforms like LinkedIn make it possible to keep track of your career and accomplishments in a systematic way 

LinkedIn provides a centralized place for regularly recording what you have accomplished

It’s a tool to share in real time what you have done and allows others to view your experience in a multimedia friendly platform. Think articles, blogs, video interviews, poster presentations

Showcasing your experience can lead to new career opportunities from recruiters or others in your professional network.

In today’s gig economy, having a well-written LinkedIn profile is a great tool to transition your career to freelance or consulting work.

What else should we all be doing to maximize LinkedIn’s powers?

 When was the last time you went through all of your LinkedIn connections and figured out who had changed or lost jobs, started a new business, or written new material? Simply clicking through your list will clue you into all sorts of news and give you the opportunity to reach out to folks with whom you’ve been out of touch. It takes a moment to send out a quick note of congratulations. Just. Do. It.

 title changed? Did you switch departments? Did you see a great, relevant article? Sharing updates helps those in your network reach out to you.

When someone you don’t know sends you an invitation to connect, hit “reply.”

 That will bring you to a return email with the sender’s address. Rather than accepting the invite through LinkedIn, it’s better to send a query. Here’s what I use:

“Hi X, I appreciate your invite to connect! As I like to know all the people in my LinkedIn first-degree network, I’m curious how you came across my profile and/or why you decided to reach out.”  After all, it’s 

 professional network. Fill it with quality connections!

 champion of publishing posts in your field of expertise on LinkedIn. This helps to establish you as a thought leader. It can be especially helpful for job hunting if you have gaps in your résumé or you’re trying to change fields. It’s also a great way to connect with new people! My favorite resource? Check out 

 How to Publish on LinkedIn: A Beginners Guide

When LinkedIn introduced this feature in early 2014, I decided I would try it out for fun. The second post I uploaded was picked up as a feature in the Careers section of LinkedIn. Imagine my amazement when my phone notifications started blowing up! The post was viewed 750 times in 24 hours—my one claim to viral fame. Because of that post, I connected with several new people, two of whom became key social media clients!

 of our time online. However, if you’re starting a job search, a day on LinkedIn can be a day well spent, especially if you use it to research the profiles of people where you want to work, make connections with them, and set up meetings.

If you have a job, but take to heart Hellmann’s advice that you should always be looking, spend 15 to 20 minutes 3 times a week reviewing your connections, commenting on updates or posts, and reaching out for virtual meetings.

Do you have a LinkedIn success story?  Drop me a line at 

. I’d love to feature your experience in an upcoming blog post!  ___________________________________________________________________________________

) is an oncology nurse navigator with the Midwest Cancer Alliance. She has a passion for helping medical teams learn to embrace innovation and thrive in a patient-focused environment. An ardent advocate of social media in healthcare, she especially enjoys working with care managers, health coaches, and nurse navigators.

____________________________________________________________________________________

1. Hellman R. Advanced LinkedIn for Your Job Search, Business, and Career. 2015. New York, NY: Robert Hellmann LLC. 

2. HubSpot. Stec C. How to Publish on LinkedIN Pulse: A Beginner’s Guide. 

Articles

Carol Bush explains a few key strategies to make LinkedIn work for your nursing career.

Four LinkedIn Strategies You Can Employ for Nursing Career Success

One of the most complex features of Twitter for new users to understand is the hashtag, a topic with a hash symbol ("#") at the start to identify it. Twitter hashtags like #NurseTechMonday or #NurseBlogLove help spread information on Twitter while also helping to organize it.

The hashtag is a favorite tool of conferences and event organizers, but it's also a way for Twitter users to organize themselves.  Think of hashtags as keywords, which are easily searchable. A hashtag search on Twitter will show me live results of tweets using my chosen hashtag.

For example, let’s say I see a tweet from someone I follow about a local event, using the hashtag #GoRunWichita. I would be very interested in searching for that hashtag to see what other people, who I don’t follow, are saying about that topic.

Ever wonder who used the first hashtag? You can thank Chris Messina in 2007 on Twitter! However, it wasn’t until the San Diego wildfires when hashtags really took off.

Before you start using hashtags in your tweets, it can be helpful to do a little research first, to find out if the subject you're tweeting already has an established hashtag. Lucky for us, we have our friends at Symplur.com who built 

.  This is quite literally the single most important tool I use to locate healthcare topic hashtags, conferences, and chats.

You won’t want to miss the Symplur blog, either!  It’s full of practical information and analysis of trends in healthcare social media. Check out this 

: “The Life Cycle of Ebola on Twitter.” It’s guaranteed to channel your inner epidemiologist! 

Conference transcripts are great places to find current evidence-based resources 

 connect with key influencers in your specialty.  Symplur has aggregated the Twitter activity from last year’s Oncology Nursing Society Annual Congress to give you an idea:

Source: Symplur — The Healthcare Hashtag Project

Using a hashtag in a social post is as simple as adding the ‘#’ sign before a single word or phrase without spaces or punctuation (numbers are okay). Like this:

Nurses: Think of LinkedIn as your professional anchor online via @thesocialnurse #NurseBlogLove

Just so you don’t get too nervous, here are 3 tips for beginners—and great reminders for all of us:

Don’t string #toomanywordstogether with a single hashtag.

Avoid #spamming #with #hashtags. Don’t over-tag a #single #tweet.

Use hashtags only on tweets relevant to the topic.

Flaunt Your New #Healthcare #Hashtag Wisdom

If you don’t already have a Twitter account, mosey on over to my blog post, 

  It will get you launched into the Twitterverse in less than 30 minutes!

Have a tip to share on hashtags or a unique way you use them? Be sure to share!  And don’t forget to follow @OncNursingNews and @thesocialnurse on Twitter!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Carol Bush, BS, RN, is an oncology nurse navigator with the Midwest Cancer Alliance. She has a passion for helping medical teams learn to embrace innovation and thrive in a patient-focused environment. An ardent advocate of social media in healthcare, she especially enjoys working with care managers, health coaches, and nurse navigators. Connect with Carol Bush via Twitter @cbushrn.

Carol Bush, BS, RN, is an oncology nurse navigator with the Midwest Cancer Alliance. She has a passion for helping medical teams learn to embrace innovation and thrive in a patient-focused environment.

How Healthcare Hashtags Can Help Nurses Share and Build Resources

One of the benefits of having an online presence is making connections with professionals from all over the world. Many people consider Twitter as a way to comment on celebrities or an always-on, instant newsfeed. For me, it has another use: as a virtual Personal Learning Network (PLN) that supports my professional learning and development.

More than just “another social networking tool,” Twitter is about connecting with like-minded healthcare professionals for personalized and ongoing professional development.

Twitter is the backbone for my PLN. Each 140-character post allows quick and easy transmission of information to links yielding websites, videos, podcasts, and interviews— dream resources for busy nurse clinicians. By simply asking, we can receive resources from nurses around the globe.

A PLN is a tool that uses social media and technology to collect, communicate, collaborate, and create with connected colleagues anywhere at any time. Each individual in your network becomes a potential source of information.

The open nature of Twitter means learning networks are no longer confined to closed and private spaces, but are open and public. This increases opportunities for collaboration and learning. By using Twitter, nurses can access the collective knowledge of their peers, engage in discussions and participate in collaborative projects whenever and wherever they like. This engagement requires a high degree of transparency and a willingness to experiment with new ways of learning and connecting within a technology-mediated network.

Many nurses who were early adopters of Twitter have gone on to become thought leaders in healthcare, not surprising given that PLNs seem to promote a great deal of reflection and collaboration. Building a network via Twitter seems to stimulate, for many, the need to express themselves further in blogging, speaking, podcasts, and writing e-books.

Additionally, many nurse leaders develop PLNs to maintain relevancy by following good ideas, rich discussions, and resources. I have found while developing my PLN via Twitter that the healthcare social media community is very welcoming and accepting.

Through PLNs, healthcare professionals exchange methods and strategies. Online discussions and links enable access to materials that are exchanged through networked nurses in real time.

So, how do you actually connect with people you want to talk to? Here are four easy ways to jump into the right conversations with the right people for your professional interests. Try spending 15 minutes a day interacting on Twitter and you will build a robust network. Here’s how:

1. Seek out the authors of the content you read

Who are the social influencers in your area of expertise? One of the best places to start is websites you go to for content. Check out the authors—people who contribute to on- line publications usually have a social presence, too. Follow them on Twitter and comment on their articles. Take it a step further and tweet some feedback. Giving a compliment with insight on the topic goes a long way.

Twitter can be a great source of information, but it can also be one of the noisiest places on the web. A great way to find people, filter tweets, and join a conversation is to search for keywords related to the topics you’re interested in. For example, if you work in management, a place to start would be a key phrase like “nurse leaders.” Seems simple—but this isn’t a perfect science, and it requires some trial and error to see which keywords get you the results you want. For example, you might also try “nursing” or “healthcare leaders.” Play around with different versions, and join the conversation when you find something of interest. Reply to people’s tweets and give your feedback or comments.

Scan your notifications and take a peek at who is following you. When it’s appropriate, connect with these people, thinking about why they might have taken the time to follow your profile. Are they in your field? In your community? A nurse researcher? Reaching out not only shows you’re paying attention, but also shows you’re open to forming new professional relationships.

Twitter chats are great forums for discussions—members often share articles, ask questions, and start online conversations with each other. Lucky for us, we have our friends at Symplur who built The Healthcare Hashtag Project (

http:// www.symplur.com/healthcare-hashtags

). It is the single most important tool I use to locate Twitter chats, healthcare topic hashtags and conferences. You can build a network of trusted colleagues beyond your organization. Learn how to use Twitter and become comfortable with the healthcare communities being built. Share ideas, answer questions, and don’t be afraid to ask for advice.

And, you are always welcome to call me—the phone is still my favorite social media tool!

Nurses can access the collective knowledge of their peers, engage in discussions, and participate in collaborative projects whenever and wherever they like.

Create a Personal Learning Network With Twitter 

I believe mastering conversation strategies via social media is as essential to today’s nursing practice as our stethoscopes and our brain. Why?

The world of healthcare—full of traditionally slow technology adopters&mdash;has amazing potential for using social media to reduce waste, improve efficiency, allow staff and caretakers to give more time to patients, and possibly reduce healthcare costs.

Nurses are the most trusted profession.  We have amazing power as health information curators!

Twitter users are often the first people to know the newest information and love to post updates about it online. It’s an interesting way to see what’s new in the world—finding out what people are talking about literally “right now.” Plus, it creates an interesting crowd from which to ask questions like, “Is anyone getting anything out of this conference? “

But don’t take my word for it. Let me introduce you to Phil Bauman. 

Phil is a registered nurse….among other things…and helps physicians, nurses, and other healthcare leaders design better relationships with patients by focusing on the intersection of healthcare and emerging technologies. 

.  He wrote the following in a post back in 2009:

“With 26 letters in the alphabet arranged within 140 characters, there are over 1.2 x 10

 possible character combinations. Of course, the number of meaningful sentences is far less than that, but a point stands out: There are a virtually infinite number of short pulses of (meaningful) information that Twitter can facilitate.”

.  (You will want to check out his ebook on 

		Live tweeting during  nursing conferences

		Sharing research and evidence-based practice

		Issuing patient care reminders in the clinical setting

		Real time satisfaction surveys with real time follow up

It doesn’t have to be a grand scheme.  Begin like I did….take one step. Start where you are. Now is the perfect time to join me!

Go to www.twitter.com and sign up for FREE (choose a name and a password).  I recommend using your real name as your twitter handle. Claim your personal brand. (You will find me @cbushrn…my whole name was already taken).

You can use Twitter on the web or on your phone—you can look at it once a day.  Please don’t feel obligated to look at it and respond instantly.

Once you’re signed up, you can start “following” people and they can “follow” you.  I am following people who have interesting things to say about healthcare innovation, oncology nursing, telehealth and gardening. I also follow regional weather…hey, I live in Kansas, during the summer, I need real-time access to severe weather locations!!

Start by following me (@cbushrn) and I’ll be glad to follow you.

Let’s get a conversation started! Tweet your favorite quote about innovation or change, followed by @cbushrn #disruptivenurse.  Like this:

“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” Demosthenes @cbushrn #disruptivenurse.

If you’d like to use Twitter and need some help, you will want to check out wenurses.com and their marrvy 

.  There is something for all levels of Twitter experience!

I believe mastering conversation strategies via social media is as essential to today's nursing practice as our stethoscopes and our brain. Why?

Twitter and the Networked Nurse: It's a conversation which is happening . . . why not join me?

Carol Bush, BS, RN, Nurse Navigator, Midwest Cancer Alliance, The University of Kansas Cancer Center, discusses challenges in the field of nurse navigation.

Bush says it’s an exciting time for all nurse navigators. However, one of the biggest challenges in this field is how to define the role and core foundation practices of the oncology nurse navigator.

Bush and colleagues have worked together to conduct a role delineation survey. Based on the survey, researchers were able to define core competencies for the oncology nurse navigator. This is available on the ONS website, Bush says.

The reason why role definition has been so challenging is because there are many models and varieties of navigation. Bush believes that the defining core competencies and focusing on the foundational practices will help move the field forward.

Videos

Carol Bush Discusses Challenges in the Field of Nurse Navigation

Last fall, I started working with a couple of nursing colleagues on a project which involves LinkedIn training for oncology nurses. The number one concern voiced ahead of the training by roughly a quarter of those nurses . . . and hundreds more in my personal conversations over the last year? 

What should I do if my patients ‘find me’? 

Here’s the key . . . and it may sound harsh:  We need to get over our phobia about engaging patients in conversation, whether through secure portals, email, and texting or via social networks like Facebook and Twitter . . . even blogs like this one.

We lack time to fully educate patients and families during office visits and hospitalizations.  

Patients expect and need more than we can deliver in those limited episodes.  They want to interact with us in real ways, in real time, using modern tools.  Heck, I’m a patient!  I expect my healthcare team to use modern tools.

Let me tell you a little story about patient engagement and social media.

I ‘fired’ my healthcare provider one morning this past year, after the zillionth time leaving a voicemail message with no return phone call. There was no patient portal available . . . no secure email or messaging.  My phone call would go through three layers of messaging before reaching a ‘real clinical person’.

frustrated by lack of direct access to my healthcare team

.  I was angered by the disrespect.  I realized my car received more prompt, personalized service and care than I did for my very own health!  I knew there had to be a better way . . . and I learned about it via social media.

When I was new to Twitter, I began following and networking with a young physician in our community who was building a direct primary care practice.  I knew it was successful, because his practice was growing, he was adding physician and nurse partners, and he was gaining national recognition for his innovative approach.  Satisfied patients from all walks of life sung high praises via Twitter and Facebook.

I went to his practice website at 10 am one day and completed demographics, including health history review and list of my needs/concerns.  At 10:30 am, 

, one of the physician partners called me 

, reviewed my history and we scheduled an office visit for the next day

I can email, text or privately direct-message (DM) my new healthcare team.  They answer my question or need almost immediately.  Lab results are emailed directly to me, by my doctor, with a personal note from him about recommendations for medication changes and follow up.  When he takes a vacation, I receive an email with contact information about who is covering in his absence.

The practice has a page on Facebook, and they have a blog on their website. Both are full of practical and helpful information about wellness, prevention and current illness trends.  Patients engage and ask general questions about health and wellness.  The practice is able to survey patients in real time about service preferences.  They share stories about their hobbies and interests and the cool volunteer work their team does in the community.  I feel like I am a part of ‘the family’ and I trust them.  I tell everyone I know how awesome they are.  I share their info across all of my social media channels.

Lesson Learned? We need to meet people where they are.  If we don’t, someone else will.

Eighty percent of internet users are looking up health information online today, and one in 5 goes online looking for someone who has a health problem like theirs.  Pew Internet. 

I’m not talking PCs here, folks . . . smartphones are the great equalizer!

Consider this:  21% of US mobile phone owners mostly go online using their phones, 

 --50% of smartphone owners under 30 use the Internet mostly on their phone Source: Pew Internet

 --55% of Americans who make less than $30K/yr 

 34% just use the device that is closest at hand  Source: Google Insights

Humans are innately social . . .  and as an extension, health is social . . .  but healthcare is not social.  This is what drives my passion.  I’m NOT a “Social Media Expert". . . far from it. I AM passionate and sincere in my desire to encourage colleagues to shed their fear about using social tools in clinical practice, and join the conversation.

I began my journey to this intersection of healthcare and social media completely clueless . . . but with a question:  How might I leverage technology, the internet, social tools, my ability to communicate, and my passion for innovation to play a small part in creating a responsive healthcare system?

One where access to information and data, as well as the ability to communicate and collaborate is as seamless and effortless as it is for people interacting with many other industries.  

Why should my car . . . a mere thing . . . be more highly regarded than my wellness?  The very essence of my life?

For the 11th straight year, nurses have been named the most trusted profession.  Patients and families believe in us and trust our messages. They look to us as curators of accurate health information.  Therefore, it’s imperative we use social media and every other online communication avenue to connect people with accurate and evidence-based care information.

It’s a conversation which is happening . . . shouldn’t we join in?

Attention Nurses:  Social Media is not a technology.  It's a conversation . . . and it's happening with or without you.

Pretty sure my mom would say questioning the status quo started at a very young age . . ."If I said the moon was white, you would say it was black...just to be different." I recall feeling frustrated when my kindergarten teacher did not want me to ‘color outside the lines.’ 

In high school, when all the girls in my class took Home Ec, I signed up for the guy stuff:  agriculture, drafting, and woodworking.  Pretty sure the fact I was the only girl in a class full of guys had something to do with it, also. 

My first “big girl” job out of college - part of the work as Communications Director was to write and edit the monthly HR magazine.  

One section was dedicated to employees celebrating milestone anniversaries.  The mag design was from the 50s and the “stories” were 

.  My boss did not want me to discover and report the cool facts which made these folks awesome and unique. He demanded I send them a boring questionnaire and “write”only off those answers.  It was completely embarrassing and the joke of the company. 

I followed his paradigm for 6 months and repeatedly made my case for bringing the little magazine into the New Age. His response? 

“We have done it this way for 30 years.  We are not going to change.”

.  I figured what was the worst thing that could happen?  I would get fired.  In my 22-year-old mind . . . that was no big deal, I could always find another job. 

I’ve never regretted it and would do it again in a heartbeat.  The result?  He was mad.  REALLY mad.  Red-Face-Cigar-Smoke-Blowing-Mad. (This was the 80s…every smoker lit up at work). Thankfully, the company president and my fellow employees loved it. 

. In fact, as a result, my position was moved under the marketing and publications department, and I became a member of the communications team, where I had a super awesome mentor.

Looking back to the HR job in 1984 . . . 

 was when I first learned how questioning the status quo can create career opportunities and add value to an organization. I learned that not a lot of people question the status quo.  I learned I am not afraid to question and am able to bring value to any organization or project I am a part of, as a result.  Thankfully, because of that early mentor, I also learned how to be “Positively Deviant,” without getting fired.

What is positive deviance and how does it apply to nursing? 

It is bending or tweaking rules or guidelines in the interest of improving patient care.  I found a great article about it by Jodie Gary, PhD, RN in the 

.  Through her work, Gary developed a nice operational definition:

“Positive deviance is intentional and honorable behavior that departs or differs from an established norm; contains elements of innovation, creativity, adaptability, or a combination thereof; and involves risk for the nurse.”

According to Gary, the concept can offer nurses a basis for decision-making when the normal, expected actions collide with a nurse's view of the right thing to do.

I am constantly on a quest to connect with other positively deviant nurses. Recently, one internet search uncovered a couple innovative nurses who are breaking the mold to create new models of patient care: Nancy Bergstrom, PhD, RN, FAAN, whose research has called into question 

, and Sharon Schindler Rising, CNM, MSN, whose innovative ideas include the 

I believe all nurses are innovators and scientists. By the very foundation of the nursing process, we are trained in quality improvement. We are the original “Real time gap analysis” people.  Our industry is in the midst of disruption. Your idea might just be the solution. 

When you hear others tell you why you can’t do something, remember that other people have 

 They are basing your ideas on their experiences, capabilities, and viewpoints of the world.

They have no idea how you think, what you can do, and what you believe.

If you listen to these naysayers, cracks will appear and begin to shatter your dreams away. My solution for negating this crazy thinking? State my dreams and desires, then follow it up with a simple . . . 

Sometimes my “why not” has fallen into a massive failure. But, this is life. 

 turning the failures into lessons and move forward

That is why when someone tells me they have an idea to change a process, or reinvent themselves in their career, my response is always:

It’s not my place to tell them they can’t. It’s my place to help them believe that anything is possible. 

Pretty sure my mom would say questioning the status quo started at a very young age . . ."If I said the moon was white, you would say it was black...just to be different." I recall feeling frustrated when my kindergarten teacher did not want me to â€˜color outside the lines.' Why not?

Positively Deviant Nurses: The Power of . . . Why Not?

According to my attempt to research the origins on the internet, no one person can lay claim to the saying.  Many seem to believe it originated in Washington, DC somewhere around 2000. 

To me, the statement means that no matter how much someone agreeing with you might try to represent you, 

having the unique experience of being you and being where decisions are made means volumes more

. All too often, if you aren’t part of the decision making, you will likely get left out, or worse yet, get served on the menu.

One of the things I learned early in my life was the importance of getting involved. In retrospect, I believe I absorbed it through osmosis.  I have been surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and grandparents who have been tenacious leaders and modeled civic action.

And yes, more than one of us have been labeled as a “troublemaker” in our lives. Today, the world might use the label, ‘Disruptive Innovator.’ I prefer that…sounds sexier.

As a young adult, I learned communicating my ideas only got me so far. To most successfully give voice to those suggestions for change or raising awareness of a critical need, required being in a position where my input would be heard.

Today, as members of the most trusted profession, it is more important than ever for nurses—each one of us&mdash;to get involved and give voice to real solutions backed by evidence and common sense.  I’m talking about real, live ordinary nurses&mdash;like you and I&mdash;stepping up to everyday tables: in our work, in our communities, via Twitter and LinkedIn. 

According to a recent report by the Health Research Institute at PwC US, 40% of people polled said information found on social media affects how someone coped with a chronic condition, their view of diet and exercise, and their selection of a physician. 

 The opinion and viewpoints of the people in our social circles online are continuously influencing our decision making even it when it comes to our opinion on healthcare options. Oncology nurses should take note of this fact by using social media in an impactful way to ensure they become a part of the process of forming an opinion of a person’s healthcare options. (Intimidated by Twitter and LinkedIn? In my next post, I will share resources and tips which have helped me discover “How to Not Suck Online”)

So, what makes someone the kind of person who gets invited to the table? 

I recently asked some key people in my professional network and here are a few things they shared:

Don’t you relish sitting next to someone who always has something interesting to say? For most of us, an invitation to any table comes with some lead time, so there is no excuse not to have some interesting topics in your back pocket. Introverts can do this too!

People enjoy hearing about new, fresh trends and ideas. This boils down to staying curious and being open to new types of thinking and new ways of doing things. This is how you create a reputation of being an expert in your field and become a person who others seek out to hear about what’s coming around the corner.

People love to be asked what they think about things and what ideas they have. Those we find the most engaging are usually those who have the ability to draw us out and make us feel special and interesting. When you purposefully listen, you create trust and rapport. People who create trust and rapport get invited back to the table.

Continually observe key leaders in your social, professional, and community service networks.  Study their communication skills. Take note of strategies they use to engage others to get things done. Apply what you observe. It’s not rocket science, but it does take tenacity.

To make sure you always have a place at the table, whether in your career or community, ask yourself if you’re demonstrating the types of characteristics of those who are sought after. If you’re not, then get out of your own way and start making changes today!

Have you secured your place at the table?

To me, the statement means that no matter how much someone agreeing with you might try to represent you, having the unique experience of being you and being where decisions are made means volumes more. All too often, if you aren't part of the decision making, you will likely get left out, or worse yet, get served on the menu.

If You're Not at the Table, You're on the Menu

Carol Bush, BS, RN, Patient Navigator, Midwest Cancer Alliance, The University of Kansas Cancer Center, discusses the role of oncology nurse navigators in healthcare reform.

Bush says that nurse navigators are a crucial piece in healthcare reform. Navigators are responsible for assessing gaps, coordinating care, analyzing data, and planning a full treatment regimen.

Nurse navigators also must focus on prevention, wellness, and patient education. Bush says that this important role makes it an exciting time for navigators.

Carol Bush on Navigators and Healthcare Reform

Carol Bush, BS, RN, is a nurse consultant, blogger and social media Community Manager at The Social Nurse.  An oncology nurse activist, she has a passion for helping nurses advance clinical practice by mastering digital tools.  At home, Carol loves gardening, cooking, watching college basketball and playing with her granddaughter. Connect with Carol via Twitter @cbushrn or @TheSocialNurse