Emily Gentry, BSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, OCN, is Senior Director of Education and Program Development for the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators.
Prior to joining the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+), Ms. Gentry served as Navigation Director, Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at Medical City Healthcare in Dallas/Fort Worth, which provides world-class cancer care and access to leading-edge therapies for patients across North Texas.
Ms. Gentry has been engaged in supporting cancer patients and their families for more than 30 years. Across her oncology career, she has worked as an oncology and hematology nurse at the bedside, a chemo-infusion nurse, a research study nurse, navigator, patient education leader, community outreach liaison, and oncology program director, leading care teams that support cancer patients and their family members. A graduate of the Baylor University School of Nursing, she joined HCA in 2014 after a 28-year career with the Baylor Healthcare System. While at Baylor, she collaborated with colleagues to develop and grow the organization’s efforts with cancer survivorship and patient navigation, working first with Baylor Medical Center Dallas and then Baylor Medical Center Plano. She was recognized as Nurse of the Year in 2011 with Baylor Medical Center Plano. She developed numerous community-facing programs while at Baylor and with HCA to support cancer patients and their families. In addition to Ms. Gentry’s professional oncology work, she enjoys serving the community as a volunteer with the American Cancer Society, North Texas Komen, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Ms. Gentry served on the AONN+ Leadership Council in 2016 and founded the local AONN+ chapter in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in 2013. She is a current chapter member of the Oncology Nursing Society and North Texas AONN+, and currently serves on the national AONN+ National Conference Planning team. She has worked over the past several years to elevate the relevance and define the role of the oncology nurse navigator within the community hospital setting. Her focus is on building processes and defining outcomes that will enable nurse navigators to work as part of an integrated care team.
Ms. Gentry’s passion is in mentorship and building collaborative teams to ensure professional self-care, while providing quality oncology patient care. Currently, she is involved in quality improvement projects focusing on compassion fatigue and professional health. In 2018, Ms. Gentry contributed to the book entitled Team-Based Oncology Care: The Pivotal Role of Oncology Navigation. This resource provides expertise from members of the AONN+ Leadership Council. Ms. Gentry’s contributions focus on compassion fatigue and community outreach. She has facilitated and spoken nationally on the importance of proactively building strategies that address the importance of assessing burnout in the oncology nurse navigator profession.
In addition,Ms. Gentry is collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to address the psychosocial oncology needs of cancer survivors, serving as a co-investigator for a qualitative research study focusing on survivorship quality of life.