For Aleida Stark, RN, each time a new patient receives their diagnosis at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, she begins a new puzzle. The care that is required for patients in the very complex world of hematology and oncology requires a massive amount of coordination. That work is taken on by nurse coordinators who serve as the point of contacts for families, patients and providers. The nurses in this role are constantly moving around the puzzle pieces to ensure everything fits.
“As nurse coordinators, we’re in charge of making sure the families understand their diagnosis,” Stark said. “Our job is to empower the patients and families and educate them to recognize events that need to be reported back to their care providers.”
Stark works closely with Dr. Donald Mahoney, director of Texas Children’s Hematology Center.
“We deal with very complicated problems here and these problems are not simply managed with a brief office visit,” Mahoney said. “It requires extended care support and that’s where the nurse coordinator fits the critical role.”
The role is one that has been present for adult cancer and hematology patients for years, but Texas Children’s is the first to create a role to this extent for the pediatric Hematology and Oncology patient population. Denise Tanner-Brown, clinical director of the Cancer and Hematology Center said the role has recently been reshaped to more closely align with the patients’ and providers’ needs and is growing with seven new positions added in the hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplant outpatient areas with recruitment currently underway.
“Cancer and Hematology care is so complex and our patients touch so many different services in the organization and many times they felt lost in a big and complex system,” Tanner-Brown said. “Our patients needed a central person to help them along the way that’s what they have found in our nurse coordinators.”
The nurse coordinator is with the patient throughout their care at Texas Children’s. From their outpatient clinic visits to any time they are admitted to the hospital or visit the Emergency Center, their nurse coordinator is there to ensure continuum and coordination of care. For the nurses in this role, the relationships are unlike any other area of care.
“There is a different level of satisfaction in this role because you see the entire continuum of care,” Tanner-Brown said. “In this role, you experience the successes, challenges and emotional roller coasters along with the families throughout the months or years they are in our care.”
Tanner-Brown said the right person for this position must be compassionate as they deal with patients in the most vulnerable moments of their lives and must be self-motivated with a great sense of collaboration.
For those interested in applying, contact Debora Harris, assistant director of Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic or Judy Holloway, assistant director of Hematology/Oncology Clinic.