For students with less than five years of experience in the health IT field, there is no need to wait until you earn a degree to move toward getting certifications that can help you build your resume.
The Certified Associate in Health Information & Management Systems (CAHIMS) credential from the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a good way to do just that. It’s designed specifically for emerging professionals.
Certifications are a valuable way for health IT professionals to quantify their skills and supplement their resumes to show employers they have the skills necessary for the job before an interview ever takes place.
CAHIMS certification demonstrates to current or potential employers that a candidate has a good foundation of knowledge in health information and management systems.
This certification also “authenticates an individuals’ ability to assist in facilitating and implementing the health IT life cycle of events,” according to Healthcare IT News.
To sit for the CAHIMS exam, students simply need to have a high school diploma. Professionals that typically sit for the CAHIMS exam include:
- Data Analysts
- Systems Analysts
- Nurses
- IT Managers
The Exam
The student has two hours to take the test, which consists of three content areas:
- General: In this section, students are asked questions about duties, business trends, work environments, trends and characteristics of the technology in health IT. It is broken into two categories, organizational and technology.
- Healthcare Information and Systems Management: An examination of duties related to the analysis, design, selection, implementation, support, maintenance, testing, evaluation and privacy and security of health information and the systems it lives in.
- Administration: Outlines duties related to supporting leadership and management initiatives.
Those interested in taking their CAHIMS certification can do so by ensuring their eligibility and applying with an online application via the HIMSS website. Once accepted, candidates will be given instructions for making their testing reservation at the nearest testing center.
HIMSS members – student, corporate or regular – pay $185 for the exam. However, candidates who are also students of USF Health are eligible for an Organizational Affiliate Member price of $145.
CAHIMS at HIMSS18
You can also earn your CAHIMS certification while attending the 2018 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition, March 5-9 in Las Vegas. For more information about the event, visit our HIMSS 2018 news section.
