Benefit of Prevention Practitioner (PP) role for cancer survivors
cancer, cancer survivor
CANCER
Patients, PPs and family physicians alike expressed their appreciation for the addition of the PP role. Physicians believed that patients were receiving better care as a result. Some PPs viewed their role as that of a navigator or connector between patients and their family physicians and/or oncologists. They followed up with other health practitioners to answer patients’ questions or to fill in the gaps where patients had forgotten their cancer survivorship/surveillance care plans.I was able to find out the name of their… oncologist and find out exactly what that care plan was supposed to be… it was more like a navigator position where I was between all of these resources and this person and then I was able to make a connection between the oncologist and the doctor or the oncologist and the patient. And so, I would say that the most valuable piece that came out of it was just revisiting that and making the connections. [PP, KI033, AB]On the receiving end, many patients expressed their appreciation that PPs were willing to connect with their oncologists and able to answer their questions or help with goal setting.[The PP] was very willing to work/speak to my oncologist and problem solve for me. I didn't expect that and really appreciated her help. [Patient, female, AB]For many patients, visits with PPs were opportunities to speak openly in a judgment-free environment with someone who provided validation for their concerns and motivation to make them feel more in charge of their health.[The prevention visit] reminded me of things I need to remember - dates, timing and helped make me feel remembered and valued… and that my life is still important! [Patient, female, AB]Patients appreciated the longer, unrushed nature of their visits with PPs. They felt that their PPs were well-prepared, and that their visits were thorough.Lots of time to discuss things in detail [in the prevention visit]. [It was] not rushed… The visit was very thorough. [Patient, female, AB]Overall, cancer survivor patients greatly appreciated having one on one visits with PPs to make sure they were meeting their screening requirements.I love that [the PP] went through all the dates for my next cancer follow up screenings. [Patient, female, ON]Consequently, PPs felt that the work was valuable and rewarding, especially when their visits resulted in positive outcomes for patients.However, many PPs commented that the visits for cancer survivor patients required more preparation time or resulted in longer visits than for BETTER WISE participants who were not cancer survivors, as there was more information to cover and particularly if patients chose to set goals. Preparation for cancer survivors could be more time-intensive if PPs were checking reports from oncologists or searching for care plans to find more information for their patients.[Prevention visits for] the cancer survivors were definitely a lot more work in terms of time… it took time to find their care plan on their chart … there was a lot more digging to figure out and to confirm when exactly the screening was supposed to be… So, I ended up making a few phone calls or just double-checking what exactly the [screening] interval was supposed to be for that person… [PP, KI033, AB]One PP felt that more skill was needed for the visits with cancer survivor patients and that they had less capacity to answer questions. However, as they became more familiar with the material, over time their comfort level increased.Well, I had less practice with the cancer survivors, so I really noticed – I noticed my skill level increasing over time as I practiced. [PP, KI033, AB]