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 |