60 seconds with… Sonalee Vadera-Jethwa Patient navigator, oncology, RFH Tell me a bit about your role: The main purpose of my role is helping streamline the pathway for patients in oncology, particularly in the breast department, making sure things like scans and appointments are all set in place. We do a lot of work with other departments, particularly radiology, so it’s important to build a good rapport to make sure scans and reports can be done in a timely manner. Every day is different but you’ve just got to be organised and prioritise. How did you get into this role? I’ve been in this role since 2018 when I made the move from retail to bank staff in outpatients, which is where I got a grounding in all different specialties. I then moved to urology but thought I’d like to continue expanding my knowledge, and I always had an interest in the cancer side of things, so I moved into oncology. What advice would you give to someone considering a career in this field? I think the skills involved were very transferable from my retail job. You don’t have to have fully-formed office and admin skills, you just need to have good communication skills, as well as be respectful and welcoming. Although in retail it’s a completely different scenario, you often deal with situations in a similar way, being mindful of what people are going through whilst being confidential too. Dealing with patients isn’t too dissimilar to communicating with customers — it’s just about being kind, considerate, organised and friendly. What are the most significant challenges in your role? It has to be communicating with other hospitals. If someone has had a scan elsewhere, it can feel like being Sherlock Holmes trying to get hold of the information. Sometimes we’re in the firing line dealing with patients’ frustration over the phone as we’re the first people they get hold of. It’s important to listen and put yourself in their shoes, thinking how you’d feel if it was one of your family members. Are there any things you’d do differently? If we could have patient data in one system, even just for all the local boroughs, that would be amazing. It’d be so useful for us and the doctors to have all the information in one place and save us ringing around lots of different hospitals. As tech develops, I also hope we’ll have more tools to help us work smarter. What is the best part about your job? I think seeing someone cancer-free, discharged and making a recovery. Watching someone pull through the hardest times and going into remission, knowing you’ve made a difference, is just the best, best thing. How do you like to unwind away from work? Walks are my thing and listening to music, particularly Bollywood. Sometimes after work I’ll put my headphones on, zone out and go for a walk to help me unwind. 12 Taking care of your wellbeing Every day, our staff go above and beyond to care for our patients. Please take the time to also look after your own wellbeing: • 24/7 helpline (out of hours) contact Care First on 0800 174319 (24/7) service) for emotional and psychological support or access online via carefirst-lifestyle.co.uk; login details can be found on Freenet • Contact the Samaritans (on 116 123), NHS Helpline (111) or your GP • Cost of living worries can have a huge impact on our mental health – visit our financial wellbeing page on Freenet • Visit Freenet for a range of resources, information and other wellbeing tips
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