Thursday, December 3, 2015

Set Goals - Prepare!



If somehow you did not hear the great news we shared on October 27, we learned that day that the HIM program was officially CAHIIM accredited!  This was a huge day for us all.  We can all rest assured now that you will be able to sit for the RHIA exam upon graduation.  We have our first HIM graduate in just a couple of weeks, and she will be the first to sit for the RHIA exam.  I am very excited to hear about her experience and share it with you all.


As the Fall Semester and 2015 are both coming to an end, it is a good time to reflect on your successes from 2015 and start setting goals for the New Year!  Here is a list to ponder:


  • Did you take all the courses you wanted to this year?
  • Did you get the grades you had hoped for?
  • Do you feel like have learned a lot about HIM?
  • How many credits do you want to complete next year?
  • If you are taking one course at a time, might you try two at a time?
  • Do you want to be more engaged in your classes next year?
  • Do you want to find an HIM-related job to get your foot in the door?
What are YOUR goals for 2016 at Charter Oak?  People who set goals and write them down are much more likely to achieve their dreams.  Make your goal list NOW!


Another goal for you over the next week or two is to contact your advisor (Me or Frank Valier) and get cleared for registration and then register for January classes.  Our personal goal is to get you all registered before January!!! 


One more note:  Be sure to SAVE all of your HIM textbooks.  You will need them for HIM 499 Health Information Management Capstone and to study for the RHIA exam.  Start a collection and build your own professional HIM library - you won't be sorry!  Not only will you use them for the RHIA exam preparation, but you will also find yourself going back to them in your first year or two in the HIM profession.


Last but not least....have a wonderful break!  You all deserve it, and I hope you are able to come back in January refreshed and full of renewed motivation.


Your Program Director,


Cindy Edgerton, RHIA






Tuesday, October 13, 2015

HIM Program Handbook

Hello HIM Students!  It has been a VERY long time since I have posted to this blog and I am going to try to get back to monthly posts.  Why have I been absent for so long?  The biggest reason was because I was so busy preparing for our CAHIIM accreditation visit on July 30/31.  Thanks to all of you who participated in the student panel for the visit!  The other reason is that sometimes I just can't think of anything to write about!  It is kind of like being a student who has to think of a topic for a research paper - sometimes that is the hardest part!  You can relate, right?


Today I do have something important to share with you.  I have created  an HIM Program Orientation / Handbook.  I am going to be emailing it to all of you existing students, and going forward I will send it to all new students who are just starting out.  I truly hope you will take the time to read the whole handbook - I just did and it only took me 20  minutes.  I want you to know all of the details in this handbook.  You probably know most of it - but I don't want you to miss a thing!  After you review the handbook, please let me know if you have any questions.


As Fall Term 1 is coming to an end soon, I hope you are all having a great semester.  Term 2 starts soon on October 26.  Be sure you are registered!


Have a great day!
Cindy Edgerton
HIM Program Director

Friday, April 17, 2015

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

HIM Info To Go - Privacy and Security Month





AHIMA celebrates April as Privacy and Security month so it is a good opportunity for you to learn a bit more about the many ways that HIM professionals are involved with the privacy and security of patient medical records.  Here is a new website that has just a few tabs and they are a quick read with all of the basics you need to know.




Privacy and Security Portal




You can look forward to learning a whole lot more when you take HIM405 Health Information Law, Privacy, and Security. 




Happy Privacy and Security Month!








Cindy (Glewwe) Edgerton, M.Ed., RHIA  


Director, Health Information Management Program


Charter Oak State College


55 Paul J. Manafort Drive


New Britain, CT 06053


(Ph.) 860-515-3833


 






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Thursday, March 19, 2015

REMINDER: HIP WEEK!


Don’t forget that next week is Health Information Professionals (HIP) Week and we will be celebrating you and your future profession!  I hope you have marked your calendars for the Meet & Greet with me and Frank Valier (if you live in the area) on Wednesday, March 25 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in the Fleet Room at Charter Oak.  It will be very casual so come and go as you please!  Then, at 6:00 I will be presenting a WebEx about the HIM profession.  The title is HIM:  Get Your Foot in the Door and Keep Walking!

Since the presentation is via WebEx, you can join us from anywhere with a computer.  If you are here for the Meet and Greet you are welcome to stay and listen live, or leave in time to get home and watch it from there.  It is flexible – whatever works best for you!

 We hope to see many of you next Wednesday – either live or virtually! 

Happy HIP Week!
 

Cindy (Glewwe) Edgerton, M.Ed., RHIA  

Director, Health Information Management Program

Charter Oak State College

55 Paul J. Manafort Drive

New Britain, CT 06053

(Ph.) 860-515-3833

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

HEALTH INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS WEEK!

March 22-28, 2015 is Health Information Professionals Week.  The theme this year is Reliable Information, Responsible Care.  To celebrate, we will be holding a Meet and Greet session on Wednesdsay, March 25 from 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. in the Fleet Room at Charter Oak State College.  Frank Valier and Cindy Edgerton will be there to meet you and chat about the field of HIM.  It will be a great chance to meet us in person and ask any questions you might have.  This is an informal unstructured event where you may come and go as you wish.  At 6:00 p.m., Cindy will be presenting on "How to Get Your Foot in the Door.....and Other Important Steps to take in the HIM Profession".  This will also be via Webex so you may attend this presentation from anywhere you happen to be!
 
For more information click here:  http://www.ahima.org/events?tabid=hipweek
 
Be sure to mark this on your calendars!  We are looking forward to celebrating Health Information Management!
 
Cindy (Glewwe) Edgerton, M.Ed., RHIA  
Director, Health Information Management Program
Charter Oak State College
55 Paul J. Manafort Drive
New Britain, CT 06053
(Ph.) 860-515-3833

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

MORE EXCELLENT RESOURCES!!

Hi everyone, if you are in an 8 week course this term you are past mid-term - what a great feeling!  I hope Term I is going well.  Remember, if you are not registered for Term 2, now would be the perfect time to do that.  Connect with me or Frank and we will get you headed in the right direction!

In the mean time, it is all about learning!  Here are more excellent resources for you:

This is a FREE webinar on the basics of ICD-9-CM.  You will be learning ICD-10 coding here at Charter Oak so it would be interesting and valuable to take a peak at ICD-9 since it is the system being used at the present time.  If everything goes as planned, our country will be transitioning to ICD-10 on October 1st of this year.

https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=781221&sessionid=1&key=5F068E45BE06E1C7BBEA50BA9BE8D82A&sourcepage=register

Another great resource, and one you may be able to use for papers you are writing in certain classes, is a handbook called Healthcare: Millions of Jobs Now and in the Future.  Take a look and save it on your computer for later use!

http://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2014/spring/art03.pdf

Have a great week!

Cindy Glewwe Edgerton, M.Ed, RHIA
Director, Health Information Management Program 

Charter Oak State College
55 Paul J. Manafort Drive
New Britain, CT 06053
(860) 515-3833
cedgerton@charteroak.edu

www.charteroak.edu

Thursday, February 12, 2015

FREE WEBINAR! Information Governance Practices

Here is a great opportunity for some extra learning!  Remember, you can add things like this to your resume under a heading of Continuing Education or Conferences/Webinars Attended or something similar.  This tells employers that you are engaged, involved and interested in always gaining new knowledge!
 
Register for a free webinar on February 25, "Results and Implications of the First Survey of Information Governance Practices in Healthcare," conducted by Deborah Green, MBA, RHIA, EVP and COO and leader of AHIMA’s IG initiatives.

FREE WEBINAR - BRUSH UP ON THOSE INTERVIEW SKILLS!



Career Prep WebinarFebruary 18, at 12 noon PM CT!
Join us on Wednesday, Feb 18, at 12 noon CT for our first Career Prep webinar of 2015: "Not About the Color of Your Shirt: Three Secrets to Showing Up as a Professional Every Day." This webinar, facilitated by Lyne Tumlinson, Founder/Career Coach at Lift Team Coaching, will cover how to be professional beyond just what you wear—including how you act and answer questions in an interview, and your overall mindset and attitude.  Don’t miss this webinar if you’ve got interviews coming up! Register today!



Director, Health Information Management Program

Charter Oak State College

55 Paul J. Manafort Drive

New Britain, CT 06053

(Ph.) 860-515-3833

 



Tuesday, February 3, 2015

HEALTH INFORMATIN MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR #27 OUT OF TOP 100 JOBS!


CNN Money just released its Top 100 Jobs list for 2015 and guess who's #27?  Health Information Management Director: 

 
You have chosen a great profession to pursue!  I am so excited that you will be joining a group of professionals who already knows that their job is awesome!
 
Cindy (Glewwe) Edgerton, M.Ed., RHIA  
Director, Health Information Management Program
Charter Oak State College
55 Paul J. Manafort Drive
New Britain, CT 06053
(Ph.) 860-515-3833

Friday, January 30, 2015

HEALTH INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL WEEK - March 22-28

Did you know.......There is a week to celebrate you and everyone in this profession!  We will celebrate here at Charter Oak.  Stay tuned for details!

Health Information Professionals Week

The next Health Information Professionals (HIP) Week will be held March 22–28, 2015.
Health information management (HIM) is an allied health profession responsible for ensuring the availability, accuracy, and protection of the clinical information needed to provide healthcare-related decisions. Health information professionals work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, physician offices, and many other organizations. They play a key role in the effective management of health data and medical records needed to deliver quality healthcare to the public. The work HIM professionals do to ensure the integrity of health information is imperative to clinical and administrative decision making. Access to reliable information helps everyone make important decisions and leads to a healthy society.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

AHIMA STUDENT OPEN HOUSE - VIRTUAL SO YOU ALL CAN ATTEND!



The AHIMA Foundation and AHIMA invite students from around the country to attend this year's Student Open House, online or in person at our headquarters on Friday, April 17. We will hold a morning session from 9 - 12 CT and an afternoon session from 1 - 4 CT.  A student need only participate in the annual student open house once during their degree program because the content covered is introductory and the same from year to year. You will need to register to participate either in-person or online.
 
Take advantage of this great event!  You will learn about career opportunities, preparing for the RHIA exam, and more!
 
Cindy


Thursday, January 15, 2015

Graduation is the Ultimate Goal!


The deadline for registration for Term I has passed, but you can still register for Term II.  Please do!  I would love to see you in my HIM 215 course if you have not taken that yet!!

I have been teaching in HIM programs since 1995, and while the HIM profession has gone through many exciting changes, I have found that students haven't changed much over time.  They all come to the program excited for a new career, excited to increase their income potential, and looking forward to meeting their ultimate goal of graduation.   But I have also witnessed many difficulties that students face and many things that get in the way of that graduation goal.  Some students give up, some press on no matter what.  I hope to motivate you to PRESS ON no matter what!  

Money isn't everything, but we all need it to live and to have a little fun.  Did you know that in the course of a life time, a high school graduate earns around $1,000,000, but in the course of a life time, a bachelors degree graduate earns double that?  Yes, someone with a bachelors degree can expect to earn about $2,000,000 over their life time.  Think that sounds amazing?  A person with a masters degree can expect to earn $3,000,000!  I think that is some awesome fuel for motivation to press on even when the going gets tough.  If you have to sit out for a term because things are just too crazy, make sure you return to your studies the very next term.  You can graduate!  YOU CAN!  I know you can, because I have witnessed hundreds of students, just like you, press on through the tough times and then shine as they walked across the stage in that cap and gown.

For some more employment and salary information, read this article from the American Association of Professional Coders.  If you are not familiar with the AAPC, it is an organization that provides some coding credentials, similar (but much smaller than) AHIMA.  Regardless of the specific credential information in this article, the other information is very good and very enlightening!  


 
Happy Reading!
 
Cindy Glewwe Edgerton, M.Ed, RHIA
Director, Health Information Management Program 

Charter Oak State College
55 Paul J. Manafort Drive
New Britain, CT 06053
(860) 515-3833
cedgerton@charteroak.edu