The Glue (Navigators in Lung Cancer)

Welcome back to our Lung Cancer 201: Expanding Horizons series. In this episode, we delve into the critical role of lung cancer navigators—the glue that holds together any comprehensive lung cancer program. So, what is the role of a navigator in a lung cancer setting? Join us while we sit down with four incredible and experienced navigators who are transforming the landscape of lung cancer care.

Meet our conversation leaders:

Joelle Fathi, DNP, RN, ARNP, CTTS, FAANP, FAAN, has served as the lead nurse practitioner and Clinical Program Director of Lung Cancer Screening, Incidental Pulmonary Nodule, and Smoking Cessation programs providing her extended experiences in thoracic oncology navigation. She is an Associate Clinical Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Washington, and currently serves as the Chief Healthcare Delivery Officer at GO2 for Lung Cancer where she leads the Excellence in Healthcare Delivery program dedicated to advancing quality care across the lung cancer continuum and supporting and training the navigators who serve tirelessly on the front lines to create more lung cancer survivors. Mary Pasquinelli, DNP, FNP-BC, CTTS, is a nurse practitioner specializing in lung cancer screening, pulmonary nodule management, and lung cancer at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UI Health). Mary’s clinical focus is on reducing barriers to care, decreasing health disparities, and improving lung cancer outcomes. Michelle Ottersbach DNP, MS, RN, CNL is a nurse navigator and navigation consultant in the early detection of lung cancer over the past 10 years in academic and community healthcare systems throughout the country. In 2012, she found her life-calling in lung cancer when UC Health-University of Cincinnati Cancer Institute asked her to help them implement their lung cancer screening research study into the first multidisciplinary lung cancer screening program in the region. Claudia Miller, BSN, RN, OCN, ONN-CGI has been a practicing Oncology RN for approaching 22 years, including 15 years at the Medical University of South Carolina. Prior to entering the nursing field, she held a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and worked as a Certified Social Worker with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

Additional information on this episode’s topic and guests, as well as the resources mentioned during the episode, can be found at https://www.acr.org/Clinical-Resources/Lung-Cancer-Screening-Resources. Access the recordings of the 2022 webinar series that inspired this podcast series at https://pages.acr.org/NLCRT_Accelerating_Screening_Uptake.html.