Tata Memorial to train cancer patient navigators for Indonesia

On Tuesday, the first batch of Indonesian students training to become cancer patient navigators in their home country was inducted at the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC). The Indonesian government had approached TMC after hearing of the success of its programme in India.

The centre, which has a very high patient load and consequently a skewed doctor-patient ratio, has been running the Cancer Patient Navigation (CPN) programme since 2019 to tackle this problem. The navigators, called kevats, help patients and their relatives steer through all their needs while undergoing cancer treatment.

The TMC has now formed a partnership with Roche Indonesia and the government of Indonesia as a part of the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India’s Cancer Vishwam Initiative. It aims to help other developing countries in capacity-building, knowledge-sharing and skill development in terms of cancer care.

Thirty Indonesian students who form the first batch will later work with the Dharmais Cancer Hospital at Jakarta. On completing the one-year course, they will be awarded a diploma in patient navigation in oncology from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

Speaking during the induction and introducing the programme to the new students, TMC director Dr Rajendra Badwe said that it was designed by the institute to help stem the high number of patient drop-outs as patients and relatives get overwhelmed with the disease. “We felt the need for people who understand clinical terms as well as the psycho-social situation of the patients. These people can help with grief counselling, understanding the diagnosis, ensuring patients have access to financial aid and reminder follow-ups with the patients,” he said.

The admission process to the programme includes a general knowledge and logical reasoning test, an EQ test, writing essays on healthcare and personal interviews to assess whether a candidate is a good fit. After this, students undergo a rigorous six-month training to understand clinical terms and processes. Then there is a six-month period where the candidate is an observer, followed by a one-year internship and a one-year fellowship before the candidates get employed with various cancer hospitals run by the Department of Atomic Energy.

“The kevats have helped tremendously in taking a lot of load off the doctors and nurses and allowed them to focus on clinical duties,” said Nishu Singh Goel, programme head of the patient navigation programme. She added that every new patient coming to TMC now first interacts with the kevats who conduct a psycho-social screening and take their history, a job earlier done by doctors or nurses. “The navigators are not diluting anyone’s roles but help everyone utilise their time with the patients more effectively,” she said.

TMC itself has churned out two batches of kevats so far. The kevats have assisted more than four lakh patients in the last three years, which was especially helpful during the pandemic. Hindustan Times