A journey coordinator does all the leg-work to get newly diagnosed patients and second opinions as easily and smoothly into our Cancer Center as possible.

And so, basically what we do is work on triaging the patient so that they're seen by the appropriate physician; gathering all their medical records, gathering their films, gathering their pathology slides, so that basically when they show up for the appointment that we have scheduled them for, they’re walking in with maybe one sheet of paper and their insurance information, and we've done everything else to make it a smooth transition for them to be seen here.

The fact that we do all the legwork really helps the patients. A cancer diagnosis is daunting in itself, and for some of these patients, it's the first touch with any medical problem, and to have it be so severe. We deal with all the logistics of that, making it easy so they don’t have to worry about 'Did I bring in all of my films?,' or 'Do I have all of the information?' or scheduling useless follow-ups just because they didn't have all the information at consults originally. So it really makes it easier for the patient to begin treatment in a timely fashion. And it makes it easier for the physician too, to know that the consult has been as beneficial for that patient as it can be.

The journey coordinator and the nurse coordinator, they each have different relationships in each hub, and hubs are split into diagnosis-specific hubs. So in my specific incident, I work with lung and esophageal patients. And my nurse coordinator and I review the medical records that I have gathered on the patient, make sure that they’re triaged appropriately and see the appropriate physician or specialist. But in a lot of different hubs, the nurse coordinator has more of a clinical role. So where the journey coordinators all come from different backgrounds, not necessarily medically, the nurse coordinator intervenes when it's more of a medical or clinical necessity or question from the patient.

I think that a journey coordinator is important to the cancer patient's life just because a lot of times, this is the first time that patient has had a touch with something as daunting as a cancer diagnosis. And a lot of patients that don't come from a medical background, they are advocating for themselves if they want to receive a second opinion or if this is their first opinion. And that's where we come in, as scheduling that consult and making sure that they’re seen in a timely fashion and making sure that all their records are available, and all their films are here so that when they do have that consult, that is the most beneficial that it can be for the patient, and that there's no time wasted. Whereas, if a patient is just advocating for themselves, a lot of time there's missing pieces of information and they're feeling like it’s such an anxiety-ridden situation, that not only are they dealing with their cancer diagnosis, but they’re dealing with the logistics of getting to their treatment.

I think Froedtert & The Medical College as an academic center really allows us to have more resources available, not only for us as journey coordinators or nurse coordinators, but also for that patient to have the opportunity to perhaps participate in clinical trials, or the fact that our physicians have access to cutting-edge treatment for that patient. Just to exploit all their options as far as treatment for different cancer diagnoses, and just resources in general.

The best part of being a journey coordinator is feeling the feedback from our patients and knowing that we really meant something through their journey and knowing that we made it easier for them to get to that point where they are receiving their treatments and really giving them hope and not having to deal with all the extra anxiety that sometimes a cancer diagnosis comes along with.