Patient Navigation Training Now Offered in Spanish

The GW Cancer Center launched a fully translated Spanish version of the free on-demand course titled Capacitación para navegadores de pacientes de oncología: Los fundamentos (Oncology Patient Navigator Training: The Fundamentals). The guide that accompanies the course is now also available in Spanish. The translated training is exactly the same as the English version and aligns to both the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Professional Oncology Navigation Task Force Practice (PONT) requirements. After the completion of training in Spanish, learners can receive a certificate of completion or 14 continuing education credits for Certified Healthcare Education Specialists (CHES/MCHES), or 14 nursing contact hours (NCE) or 14 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. The development and revision of this training was made possible by a Cooperative Agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since the revised training in English launched in March, 2,652 learners have enrolled in the free course which prepares patient navigators to effectively address barriers to care for cancer patients and survivors. According to Dr. Joseph Bauer, founder of Cancer Care Concierge, “the curriculum is thoughtfully structured, practical, and steeped in real-world scenarios—exactly what frontline navigators need…, I was so impressed that I am requiring this training for all of our Patient Care Navigators.”

The GW Cancer Center was the first institution to offer a national consensus-based competency training for oncology patient navigators and is only one of a few organizations globally to offer a comprehensive patient navigator course in Spanish. The course was first developed by Dr. Mandi Pratt-Chapman and her Training and Technical Assistance team in 2015, and is an accredited, comprehensive, competency-based training that uses evidence and case studies to provide foundational knowledge to patient navigators.

In the US, around 22.6% of patients identify Spanish as their preferred language, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Patient navigator programs can improve the access to care for Hispanic and other minority patients.  In the training, there is emphasis on providing materials to patients in their preferred language; naturally providing a translated training to Spanish-speaking navigators was the next step.

 “We are pleased to provide this free training in Spanish to meet the needs of navigators and their patients. The launch of our patient navigation training into Spanish will extend its global reach and impact even further.” Said Dr. Pratt-Chapman.

Partner organizations who contributed to update and translation of this training include Alboum, Nuestra Voces Adelante, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, Navegación de Pacientes Internacional, Inc./Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators (AONN+), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ACSO), Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), Navigation Advisors, NW Portland Area Indian Health Board, National LGBT Cancer Network, Harvard University, Commission on Cancer (CoC), Susan G. Komen, Gallaudet University, Patient Advocacy Foundation(PAF)/ Self-Made Network, American Samoa Cancer Coalition, National Council for Mental Wellbeing.