June 11, 2007

Bridging the HIM Gap
By Juliann Payonk
For The Record
Vol. 19 No. 12 P. 38

The Tennessee Health Information Management Association (THIMA) and the Middle Tennessee Health Information Management Association (MTHIMA) recently held the first annual Middle Tennessee Student Meeting/Career Fair. The initiative, called “Bridging the Gap,” was organized by Paula Demby, RHIA, CHC, president of the MTHIMA, as well as Elizabeth Kunnu, HIM program director at Tennessee State University (TSU), and Abby Cooper, HIT program director at Volunteer State Community College (VSCC).

Demby explains, “‘Bridging the Gap’ is one of the AHIMA’s essential responsibilities to assist in developing a future workforce to meet the needs of the major health information transformation. THIMA, in conjunction with MTHIMA, decided to work with our HIM educators to provide mentoring, networking, and job opportunities for the graduating students from our HIM and HIT programs.”

Career Talk
Students from TSU and VSCC came together for a full day of conversation, a fashion show, lunch, and presentations by students of the two programs. Demby says, “The purpose of the fashion show was to show students the appropriate dress attire for different work situations and how not to dress. Dress Barn provided clothes for the following situations: interviewing, business casual, too casual, casual that could be accessorized to business casual, and not appropriate to wear at all.”

Bryon Pickard, MBA, RHIA, president of the AHIMA, gave a speech of encouragement to students. Pickard spoke about the AHIMA’s role in assisting HIM students with bridging the gap between HIM professionals and students, giving information on the AHIMA Career Center and the various opportunities for students to network and volunteer with the AHIMA and component state associations.

Pickard also talked about excitement in the HIM profession with the evolution of the electronic health record, the personal health record, HIPAA, regional health information organizations, and continued regulatory monitoring of coding, which offer various opportunities for HIM students. He encouraged students to take advantage of opportunities to network with and talk to HIM professionals beyond their clinical affiliations and internships by attending local and state association meetings.

“He also let them know that students’ first position may not be the management position they had always dreamed of. He told them to be creative, get their foot in the door, and various opportunities can arise from the positions they had never thought about. He told them to strive to be the best by taking the certification exams in order to obtain their RHIA or RHIT credentials and, if there was any way he could be of any assistance to them, to contact him,” Demby says.

THIMA President Kelly Milam spoke of Tennessee’s initiative to bring together students and HIM professionals through the MTHIMA’s open forum meeting in the fall, which consisted of a panel of HIM professionals in traditional and nontraditional settings who talked to students about the following: how they got into the HIM field, how to prepare for their on-site clinicals, the importance of obtaining credentials, and what they had learned as a HIM professional. The students also got a chance to network with the panel and ask questions.

Guest speaker Robert Horton of 3H Management Consultant Group, LLC, spoke to students regarding professional dress and diversity in the workplace. Following the speech, Horton also spoke with several students regarding their individual resumés, making suggestions for improvement.

“Rob Horton talked to the students about interviewing skills and appropriate phone etiquette, tailoring resumés to fit the position you are applying for, and various issues to consider regarding diversity,” Demby says. “The thing that stood out the most about Rob was that he took the time to review each student’s resumé, giving them tips on what they should do to improve their resumé; the students welcomed his feedback.”

Several organizations supported the effort, including HCA, Lexicode, Vanderbilt Medical Center, Smart Document Solutions, 3M Health Information Systems, and Spheris. “The career fair was a great opportunity for students to interact with vendors and to discuss what qualifications the vendors are looking for in students,” says Melissa Cantrell, a graduating senior from TSU.

HIM Programs
VSCC offers a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) to help prepare for the RHIT examination—a credential nationally recognized as proof of HIT proficiency. TSU offers an entry-level bachelor of science degree in accordance with guidelines established by the CAHIIM, with program goals of preparing students as competent, confident, and innovative health information professionals who can identify and use a variety of information management resources and technologies at various healthcare facilities. TSU students will also be prepared for the certification examination for credentialing by the AHIMA.

Students and faculty from TSU and VSCC believe that with both programs working together with the AHIMA and the THIMA through this initiative, more opportunities will be available for graduating students as they pursue careers in HIM. The event was an ideal place to “network and interact with different vendors,” says Tasha Watkins-Pickett, a TSU student who graduated in May.

To the Future of HIM
At least three students landed jobs directly from the event. Watkins-Pickett will be working for Vanderbilt Medical Center as a release of information supervisor. Vanja Armstrong and Tiffany Bray, also TSU students, will be working for Lexicode. “The event was a great success, and we look forward to having the next event at Volunteer State [Community] College; the vendors that participated all want to work with us next year. This is just the beginning—more great sessions for the students are to come from our association,” Demby says, reminding those already established in the HIM profession to “please take time to mentor HIM students; they are our future HIM professionals.”

— Juliann Payonk is an editorial assistant at For The Record.