All the Different Views!

There are so many career options in the world of HIM. I believe a lot of people just think of coding, medical records and billing when they think of jobs in the field. Yet, there are so many titles, functions, departments and settings that HIM professionals can occupy.

I will be the first to admit that when I thought about jobs after graduation being a coder was the first thing on my mind and yet, my first job was actually as a Medical Records Manager in a SNF. Now, I was the only person I managed but I also did everything in the department and had full control over how it was ran. My teachers did encourage us to explore all our options and apply for any job we were interested in because you never know what you'll like or where you'll end up.

I'm glad I had that kind of advice and it really paid off because before I graduated I had two job offers to consider, one at an LTACH as a coder and the other as the SNF MR Manager. I made my decision based off the fact that the LTACH position was in Houston and they wouldn't include a relocation package for me and the SNF position was in my home state.

I also encourage you to not only explore job functions but also the different healthcare settings. The HIM world is much bigger than Short Term Acute Care Hospital (STACH). There are doctor offices, nursing homes, SNF, rehabs, psych hospitals, LTACHs, insurance companies, government facilities, software vendors, research facilities, home health agencies and hospices that all require HIM professionals.

To aid in your decision making I encourage you to visit this AHIMA partner site to gain some insight on what you are interested in. But tell me, at this moment, what are you interested in as job function and setting?