title: The development and implementation of a volunteer lay navigation competency framework at an outpatient cancer center.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the development and delivery of a competency framework designed to guide the recruitment, training, and competency screening of volunteer lay navigators at an outpatient cancer centre in Victoria, BC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Volunteers that passed a screening interview underwent 22 h of training focusing on the scope of the navigator's role, communication skills, and cancer center processes and resources. Volunteers that passed a post-training interview, by demonstrating a basic level of competency in three domains (Self as Navigator, Communication, and Knowledge/Information), were invited to participate as volunteer lay navigators in a three-step intervention with newly diagnosed lung cancer patients at the British Columbia Cancer Agency-Vancouver Island Centre.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 27 volunteers who attended a screening interview, 20 were invited to participate in training. From the subset of 20, 13 of these participants achieved competency scores high enough to qualify them to practice as volunteer lay navigators.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  By incorporating the lessons we have learned from this study, we believe that the lay navigation competency framework serves as a useful model for selecting, training, and supporting competent navigators.
authors.affiliation: BC Cancer Agency, 2410 Lee Avenue, Victoria, BC, V8R 9Z9, Canada, slorhan@bccancer.bc.ca.
authors.forename: Shaun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lorhan
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hodgson
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Westhuizen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001955:British Columbia; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006284:Health Plan Implementation; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D062526:Patient Navigation; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000379:methods*; D066107:Social Skills; D014739:Victoria; D014838:Volunteers / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D000078329:Workforce; D055815:Young Adult
references.citation: J Cancer Educ. 2009;24(3):186-93
references.pmid: 19526405
references.citation: Qual Manag Health Care. 2004 Jan-Mar;13(1):17-32
references.pmid: 14976904
references.citation: Qual Health Res. 2007 Jul;17(6):744-58
references.pmid: 17582018
references.citation: J Urban Health. 2006 Mar;83(2):139-41
references.pmid: 16736361
references.citation: Semin Oncol Nurs. 2009 Aug;25(3):212-21
references.pmid: 19635400
references.citation: Support Care Cancer. 2011 Jan;19(1):81-90
references.pmid: 20091058
references.citation: J Support Oncol. 2007 Apr;5(4):185-93
references.pmid: 17500506
references.citation: Support Care Cancer. 2013 Oct;21(10):2707-17
references.pmid: 23708823
references.citation: Patient Educ Couns. 2008 Mar;70(3):315-37
references.pmid: 18191527
references.citation: J Cancer Educ. 2013 Mar;28(1):84-91
references.pmid: 23104142
references.citation: Palliat Med. 2010 Jan;24(1):79-87
references.pmid: 19843621
references.citation: Patient Educ Couns. 2008 Jan;70(1):10-24
references.pmid: 17904782
references.citation: Med Educ. 2008 Mar;42(3):248-55
references.pmid: 18275412
references.citation: Qual Manag Health Care. 2002 Fall;11(1):14-38
references.pmid: 12455340
references.citation: J Cancer Educ. 2011 Jun;26(2):277-84
references.pmid: 21287311
references.citation: Support Care Cancer. 2009 Jul;17(7):801-9
references.pmid: 19089460
references.citation: Hum Resour Health. 2012 Nov 16;10:43
references.pmid: 23157696
references.citation: Psychooncology. 2012 Oct;21(10):1053-62
references.pmid: 21769989