Where do you think your skills, abilities, and strengths fit in with the CCHIIM mission?  

CCHIIM’s mission, vision and values for certification and recertification of AHIMA professionals builds the foundation for the professional competencies. Throughout the 22 years I have been in the Health Information Management (HIM) profession, I have obtained multiple certifications. My RHIT was obtained upon completion of a two-year HIT program. I went back to school and was able to sit for my RHIA. I continued to gain additional experience in the field related to coding and obtained a CCS and CCS-P to demonstrate my competency in coding all patient types. In being a seasoned coder and writing queries to assist with improving documentation I sat for my CDIP and successfully passed, hence demonstrating my competency in that area as well. I have obtained experience in various areas of HIM and obtained certifications to validate my competency in those areas. I believe in the CCHIIM mission to assure the competency of professionals practicing health informatics and information management worldwide through certification. It is important that we continually evaluate the certification and recertification process. I believe that obtaining and maintaining AHIMA credentials is critical to the HIM profession. The AHIMA credentials assist in identifying and distinguishing qualified health information professionals. As the CCHIIM Commissioner I plan to support the HIM profession by partnering with individuals in the healthcare industry and HIM professional to provide awareness of the skills and abilities that HIM professionals possess. I plan to collaborate with HIM educators and professional regarding the requirements for HIM professionals in the industry to ensure the certification exams accurately and effectively evaluate the knowledge of credentialed HIM professionals and promote life-long learning. It is important that HIM professionals are meeting the needs of the industry.