[Use of time of a nurse involved in breaking the diagnosis of lung cancer and navigating patients in the healthcare system: Experience of an academic thoracic oncology ward].

The Plans cancer 1 and 2 created new nursing posts to improve the way that news about cancer was given to patients and to coordinate their care, helping them to navigate the system. We describe the way a nurse, assuming the role of assisting the doctor when a diagnosis of cancer is revealed and coordinating the care of patients in a teaching hospital, uses her time. One thousand and forty-one patients were supported by the nurse during 6515 procedures over 4.27 years. The median (interquartile range) number of interventions per patient was 3 (7). Helping to break news of cancer and the coordination of care represented approximately 20 and 80% of the working time of the nurse, respectively. The nurse spent 43% of her time without the doctor and more than half of this duration was dedicated to meetings with patients. The nurse timetable analysis shows that her role is very similar to a Canadian 'Pivot' nurse in oncology. In our experience, this combination of the announcement of cancer diagnosis and the coordination of subsequent care seems relevant, but the nurse is not replaced in the case of absence.