Susan Feild enjoys taking care of people, teaching and supporting women’s health.
For the past 14 years, she has combined those passions into a career as a nurse navigator at the Breast Health Center at UM St. Joseph Medical Center.
Feild’s mission is to guide and empower breast cancer patients and their family members – from the time of diagnosis onward – to keep them informed and prepared for treatment and a strong recovery.
“At the Breast Health Center, we believe that patients should be fully informed about their disease and treatment options so that they are empowered to make the best possible health care decisions, explains Feild, a registered nurse.
“To this end, I use every available resource to educate and support patients and help ensure timely access to care,” she adds. “Doing so reduces anxiety and fear among patients, and improves their compliance with treatment throughout every phase of care.”
Along with providing patients with education and psychosocial support, Feild coordinates referrals for treatment and support services – including social work, physical and healing therapies, counseling, acupuncture and massage, yoga and other wellness services.
She also oversees the Survivors Offering Support program, which pairs breast cancer survivor mentors with newly diagnosed patients for first-hand insight and advice about breast cancer.
Perhaps most importantly, she reaches out to patients at high-stress points throughout their treatment.
“I want our patients to know that they can count on me to be an ongoing, consistent point of contact for them and their families throughout the full continuum of care,” Feild explains. “I am committed to doing whatever I can to help patients feel in control and fully supported every step of the way.”
This includes addressing fears and concerns, answering questions and helping patients overcome any barriers to treatment, such as getting transportation to their appointments.
“Knowing that patients trust me during such a vulnerable time in their lives motivates me to keep doing whatever I can to keep them strong and healthy, and to make their path as easy and as comfortable as possible, whenever I can,” she says.
Adopting the “Golden Rule” approach, Feild takes cares of patients the way she would want to be taken care of – embracing them and reassuring them that they are not alone.
“At this vulnerable time, when patients feel very isolated and frightened, I stand with them –sometimes in front, sometimes shoulder-to-shoulder and always behind them – as their advocate, their educator, their friend,” she says.”
Finding great satisfaction in making a difference in her patients’ lives, Feild feels “blessed” to be a breast nurse navigator at UM St. Joseph.
“We all have a passion for what we do at the Breast Health Center,” Feild says. “Caring for each patient is a team effort, and we respect each other and the trust our patients place in us.”
“Patients can take comfort in knowing that they are being treated by a team of experts that provides exceptional care,” she adds.
For an appointment at the Breast Health Center, please call 410-427-5510. To meet the expert team and schedule your mammogram, visit umstjoseph.org/breasthealth.
The Breast Health Center at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
7501 Osler Drive, Towson, MD 21204
410-427-5510
umstjoseph.org/breasthealth
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