Lori McMullen on What's Ahead for Nurse Navigation

Lori McMullen, RN, MSN, OCN, Senior Oncology Nurse Navigator, University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, discusses the next step in nurse navigation.

McMullen says the future for oncology nursing is wide open. In the past, ONS conducted a role delineation survey that showed that nurse navigators felt that receiving their OCN certification was enough to set them apart from oncology nurses. However, the role of the oncology nurse navigator has developed over the past couple of years, McMullen says.

Now, navigators have expressed interest in receiving a special certification that labels them as a nurse navigator. Nurse navigators feel that their skill set is different from oncology nurses. The role of a nurse navigator continues to redefine itself, as nurse navigators are much more than an oncology certified nurse (OCN).

McMullen says she would support the idea of a specialized certification in nurse navigation because it would allow the navigator to add another tool to their skill set, setting them apart from oncology nurses.

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