When selecting a school program in HIM you have many options. Are you looking for a certificate or a diploma? You can get a coding certificate to prepare you to take the CCA coding credentialing exam in about a year. You can get a diploma at the associate degree level to prepare you to sit for the RHIT credentialing exam, and you can get a diploma at the baccalaureate level to prepare you for the RHIA credentialing exam.
If you already have a baccalaureate degree in another field (Biology or Information Technology for example) you can enroll in a master’s degree program to prepare you for an exciting career in health informatics. Some of the master’s degree programs will offer optional courses at this level that will allow you to sit for the RHIA credentialing exam.
Additionally, there are several schools in the country that offer a post-baccalaureate certificate to prepare the student to sit for their RHIA exam.
You also have choices about where to get your training – in the classroom, or from home. You can select an online program which you will take from your home, or you can attend a private college or a public community college or university and attend traditional college classes.
Distance learning: To be successful in distance learning you need to be highly disciplined as you will be advancing through your lessons by yourself with access to the instructor typically through email. Some distance learning programs make extensive use of the internet to provide live lessons or recorded lessons for distance learners. High school students who have experience being home schooled will typically adapt to the distance learning model easily.
Traditional classroom: If you prefer a high level of interaction while learning you may be more successful in a traditional classroom where you will engage real time with the professor and your fellow classmates to help you through the learning process.
Hybrid: A number of school programs are moving to a hybrid model where part of the class meets in regularly scheduled sessions, and part of the class is done via the web.
Almost all schools today use a classroom management system (CMS) program (i.e. WebCT or Blackboard). Students visit the website on a daily basis to view homework assignments, download course materials, and post comments on the class discussion board. A CMS program is a way to store and retrieve materials used in class. It is not the same as a distance education learning model.
Select the type of school program that interests you and print off the listing generated by the search engine. Speak with the program director of each program (e-mail works best) to have your questions answered. Each program is unique and the answers for one will be different that the answers you will receive from another. Some questions to ask include:
Academic Pathways
Selecting a School