Nurse Navigator, GU
Tennessee Oncology · Franklin, Franklin
Tennessee Oncology, one of the nation’s largest, community-based cancer care specialists, is home to one of the leading clinical trial networks in the country. Established 1976 in Nashville, Tennessee Oncology’s mission remains unchanged: To provide access to high-quality cancer care and the expertise of clinical research for all patients, at convenient locations within their community and close to their home. Our growing network of physicians and locations is based on this mission. Tennessee Oncology is committed to advancing both the science of detection and targeted treatments, and to making these advances available to every patient. We believe caring for cancer patients is a privilege.
Why Join Us? We are looking for talented and highly-motivated individuals who demonstrate a natural desire to support the meaningful work of community oncologists and the patients we serve.
Job Description:
The GU Oncology Nurse Navigator is an experienced oncology nurse who uses clinical judgment and the nursing process to coordinate care for patients with genitourinary (GU) cancers across a fragmented, multi-specialty, multi-system journey. Reading and following the clinic record, the coordinator tracks each patient longitudinally from referral through survivorship or end-of-life care and serves as the single point of contact linking Tennessee Oncology medical oncology and radiation oncology with the external urology practices, nuclear medicine, genetics, cardio-oncology, and supportive and palliative care that a GU patient moves between.
Because these services often sit on separate electronic medical records, including systems outside Tennessee Oncology, the coordinator is the connective layer that keeps handoffs from failing and also supports data screening, dashboard management, and outcomes analysis for the service line. The goals are concrete: reduce time to treatment, close care gaps, minimize avoidable hospitalizations and ED visits, and ensure guideline-concordant, patient-centered care.
This is a high-autonomy, high-impact role and a foundational hire in Tennessee Oncology’s new GU Center of Excellence, offering the chance to build workflows, shape a growing program, and advance professionally through supported certification.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Serve as the point person who identifies patients appropriate for multidisciplinary review in the GU Center of Excellence. Educate New Patient teams and operationalize workflows to surface patients who need GU specialist care (clinical trial candidates, radioligand therapy, and early-stage disease requiring perioperative or curative-intent treatment), then initiate and coordinate the referral process and track and analyze the resulting data.
- Educate clinical providers, patients, and families about our GU-focused care services and connect them to the Tennessee Oncology GU Center of Excellence / Men’s Health Center through internal referrals, serving as the GU care liaison and spokesperson at Tennessee Oncology. This includes building relationships with community urology groups and, where appropriate, conducting community outreach and education about GU-centered care at Tennessee Oncology.
- Assist in developing patient-care protocols and systems that improve coordination, supportive care, and survivorship for GU patients at Tennessee Oncology.
- Coordinate care across clinics and practices (medical oncology, radiation oncology, and outside urology) between clinic visits to close gaps in care and reduce avoidable urgent care, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. Apply critical thinking and creative problem-solving to get patients the care they need.
- Identify and connect patients and families to internal and community resources: genetic counseling, cardio-oncology, pain and symptom support, survivorship clinic, mental health, spiritual care, financial assistance, and bereavement support throughout cancer treatment.
- Manage the neoadjuvant-to-surgery pathway for muscle-invasive bladder cancer: receive the urology referral, coordinate the medical oncology and radiation oncology consult and chemotherapy as needed, and communicate the cystectomy window back to the referring urologist within the guideline-concordant window.
- Follow up on next-generation sequencing and germline genetic testing: track ordering, insurance coverage, turnaround, and results communication, and ensure results are actioned and genetics referrals close the loop.
- Coordinate cardio-oncology and other consultative needs for patients on ADT, ARPIs, checkpoint inhibitors, and VEGF-targeted agents, each of which carries a defined toxicity profile.
- Provide financial navigation: screen for financial burden at diagnosis and at each major transition, and connect patients to manufacturer assistance programs, co-pay foundations, and internal financial counseling.
- Supervise referral intake and appointment sequencing (PSMA PET, tumor board, genetics, cardiology clearance, treatment start) to reduce time from diagnosis to treatment.
- Screen patients for clinical trial eligibility at initial consult and at each treatment transition, explain trial participation in accessible terms, and coordinate trial logistics with the research team.
- Maintain structured communication with referring urologists and primary care physicians: visit summaries, treatment milestones, lab results, and time-sensitive updates.
- Create and maintain a GU service-line dashboard tracking each patient’s stage in the pathway (referral status, time to treatment, RLT cycle, testing status, open care gaps) and run reports on care metrics such as time to treatment, neoadjuvant chemotherapy utilization, RLT completion, testing uptake, and referral response time.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:
- Ability to understand, relate to, and communicate with patients with serious illnesses and their families/caregivers
- In-depth knowledge of GU malignancies and their multidisciplinary pathways (prostate, bladder, kidney, testicular), including neoadjuvant chemotherapy, radioligand therapy, and germline and somatic testing, along with the referral services and healthcare organizations involved and their functional relationships.
- Ability to manage symptoms, triage, and coordinate care for seriously ill patients via telephone
- Ability to communicate effectively with all levels of clinical staff to coordinate care for a patient (front office schedulers, medical assistants, nursing, APPs, physicians)
- Ability to plan, organize, and complete assigned tasks
- Maintain accurate and detailed records of all information calls and referrals and work alongside clinical team and IT to create dashboard for centralized knowledge base of clinical care.
- Strong interpersonal and public relations skills for effective promotion of our GU Center of Excellence and Men’s health center.
- Experience in public speaking and teaching preferred.
- Proficiency in the use of computers and clinical computer software including electronic medical records, and Microsoft word, powerpoint, and excel.
- Ability to travel to be in person to interact with patients and physician on some days of clinical work and potentially traveling to various clinics in middle Tennessee for education and feedback of the program.
- Clinical judgment to read and follow oncology clinic notes and to recognize when a patient is off-pathway or clinically deteriorating.
- Ability to coordinate care across multiple electronic medical records and organizational boundaries, including systems outside Tennessee Oncology.
- Ability to build and maintain a tracking dashboard and to run reports on care metrics.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, problem-solve proactively and diplomatically, and manage a longitudinal patient panel.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:
- Registered Nurse with a current Tennessee RN license; graduate of an accredited school of nursing. BSN preferred.
- Minimum 2 years of oncology nursing experience; GU oncology strongly preferred.
- Oncology Nursing Certification (OCN) preferred, or obtained within 15 months of hire; oncology nurse navigator certification (ONN-CG) preferred.
- Current ONS Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy certificate preferred.
- Prior experience in environment other than a hospital, outpatient preferred.
- Prior experience working on quality improvement or administrative projects preferred.
- Comfortable with Computers, Fax, Telephone MS Office (including MS Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint)
- Excellent time management and organizational skills are essential.
- Current Basic Life Support Certification
- Valid Driver’s License.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Job Title: Palliative Care Coordinator
Physical Activity Required
Amount of time
None
Less than 1/3
(Occasionally)
1/3 to 2/3
(Frequently)
More than 2/3
(Regularly)
Standing
x
Walking
x
Sitting
x
Fingering or manual dexterity
x
Repetitive finger motion
x
Lifting or exerting force
Up to 10 pounds
Up to 25 pounds
x
Up to 50 pounds
Up to 100 pounds
Over 100 pounds
Reaching or stretching
x
Climbing or balancing
x
Crouching or stooping
x
Speaking
x
Hearing
x
Seeing (with correction)
x
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