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House Resolution: Increase Dialogue, Employment Opportunities

In May, the House of Delegates passed a resolution sponsored by the Florida Health Information Management Association designed to bridge the gap between education and employment. This resolution intends to facilitate the employment of graduates from CAHIIM (Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education) accredited HIM programs at the baccalaureate and associate degree levels and AHIMA-approved coding programs at the pre-degree level.

What the Resolution Means

Employment is a goal of our students as they complete accredited and approved educational programs and begin their professional careers. Although many are successful at graduation, it seems that an ever-increasing number are being challenged to achieve the entry-level experience qualifications desired by employers. This seems especially true in the coding arena. As employers are pressed to have optimal productivity from every employee from start date, new graduates find it difficult to bridge the gap from education to employment.

AHIMA is addressing the clinical practice education issue with the creation of the e-HIM Virtual Learning Laboratory to facilitate ongoing skill development. This action is applauded, but it is not a full substitute for onsite clinical experiences. Another area of action is for organizations to create "preceptor" programs to smooth the transition from education to employment. Many facilities have these programs in place for new nursing graduates, why not HIM? It is desired that this document will generate the sharing of additional education to employment transition models that can be duplicated in other settings.

Preamble

Whereas, HIM students are the future of our profession;

Whereas, the goal of HIM students is to gain active employment in the HIM profession upon completion;

Whereas, initial employment appears increasingly challenging to qualify for;

Whereas, HIM employers appear to be requiring more skills and HIM experience before offering employment;

Whereas, HIM student/new graduate employment is necessary to continue to optimally recruit the next generation of HIM students;

Be it resolved, the HIM profession must heighten its awareness of this apparent phenomena to take corrective actions; and

Resolved, HIM accredited and approved educational programs will solicit feedback from advisory boards and others to determine the actual employment skills desired by employers; and

Resolved, HIM accredited and approved educational programs will, in cooperation with employers, attempt to provide optimal preparation to meet the skills expectations desired in the work force; and

Resolved, HIM employers must enhance their efforts to provide clinical education to HIM students from HIM accredited and approved educational programs to better prepare them for the work force; and

Resolved, HIM employers must further advance their efforts to employ recent HIM graduates from HIM accredited and approved educational programs by creating entry-level opportunities; and

Resolved, AHIMA will continue to support the development of the e-HIM Virtual Learning Laboratory to facilitate ongoing skill development for all members; and

Resolved, AHIMA BOD will continue to prioritize and be responsive to the development of new ideas and concepts addressing student education to employment transitional support; and

Resolved, AHIMA, component state associations, regional associations, and others are requested to promote the CAHIIM-accredited HIM programs at the baccalaureate and associate degree levels, and the AHIMA-approved coding programs at the pre-degree level in their respective areas via Web sites or other means to reduce confusion with unapproved options; and

Resolved, AHIMA, FORE, educational programs, and/or members need to support formal research to statistically verify student employment at a base level and to evaluate the effectiveness of corrective actions toward improvement on an ongoing basis.

Resolved, all parties that have had experiences with "preceptor" transitional type programs are requested to share them in the CoPs. This will facilitate others evaluation of the feasibility of developing similar models that will facilitate bridging the gap from education to employment.

Approved May 17, 2005

Source: AHIMA Advantage 9:5 (August 2005)