Jamie Hensley, MHCM, CCRP, is the assistant director of screening and care navigation in the UF Health Cancer Institute’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement, where she focuses on the Mobile Cancer Screening Connector.
Q: What is your hometown?
A: I was born and raised in Sacramento, California. Gainesville has been home to me since 2012.
Q: Describe your educational and professional background.
A: I got my associate’s degree through a medical assisting program right out of high school. I worked as an MA in family practice for a few years, then got a job as a scheduler in a clinical research office and became really interested in research. It completely changed my life and set me on a different career path. I worked in clinical trials until I moved to Gainesville. When I got hired at UF, I started as a medical record reviewer in the UF Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics. Way back then, it was called HOP! My role focused on program evaluation and quality review. I felt compelled to finish my degree to advance in my career, so I started taking classes online, all while working full time at HOBI as a program assistant, then a research coordinator and then a clinical research manager. I completed my Master of Healthcare Management degree in 2019.
Q: How did you get into your current career path and how many years have you been in the role?
A: In my time at HOBI, I was fortunate to work alongside Dr. Ramzi Salloum and Jennifer Woodard, who held positions in HOBI, as well as COE during its early development. When the assistant director position became available, they encouraged me to apply and the rest is history.
Q: What is a typical day like in your job?
A: I don’t know the meaning of the word “typical day”! My primary focus is the Mobile Cancer Screening Connector, so much of my work revolves around that. Depending on what’s happening in COE, I might be preparing a presentation for stakeholders, evaluating event requests, developing a work plan for a new study or meeting with the clinical community navigation team to discuss our screening patient panel.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of working for the UF Health Cancer Institute?
A: My work allows me to be front and center with the patients, caregivers and stakeholders that the UF Health Cancer Institute serves. I’ve seen patients move from unfamiliarity about cancer to a place of empowerment from knowing that they’re taking care of their health. I see the strengths and the struggles, and I see my amazing team work to truly partner with the folks we work with. Every patient is unique, and I love knowing we have the tools to help them, no matter what the situation.
“Every patient is unique, and I love knowing we have the tools to help them, no matter what the situation.”
Q: How do you keep your skills current and continue to learn and grow?
A: I network and I ask a lot of questions! I love to learn from other people in the industry and from related professions. One of my favorite high school teachers said, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” I like being around people whose skill set and experience is different from my own, which allows me to be a learner.
Q: Describe how you would spend your ideal day off from work.
A: I would get to wake up without an alarm; the alarm is the bane of my existence. Then I’d probably read, meditate and have a strong cup of coffee. Then I’d go workout! I started weightlifting at age 40, and I love seeing what my body is capable of doing. Then I’d spend the rest of the day with my husband and three amazing stepdaughters and our spoiled-rotten dog. We love cooking together, laughing at each other, watching movies and doing outdoorsy things, like feeding the horses at the Mill Creek Farm.
Q: What lessons from the communities you serve have had the greatest influence on how you approach your work?
A: I learned, and am always learning, humility. UF is a large health system and research powerhouse. We have plenty of resources and access to all of the cancer-relevant data in the world, so it could be easy to swoop into a region or a small community and assume that we have all the answers. Even if we have the best of intentions to fix things for people, this approach puts the focus on us. If we fix things with people, the patients we serve will be at the center.
Watch a video about the Mobile Cancer Screening Connector that features Jamie below:
