“I Got Certified for Healthcare IT Jobs – You Can Too!”: Happy Belated Birthday!

On July 2nd, 2010 I gave “birth” to my blog entitled – I Got Certified for Healthcare IT Jobs – You Can Too! Wow – who knew what a tremendous response this little “baby” would create? Its been 2 years since this original post that has consistently and consecutively remained the top ‘Popular’ and most replied to blog topic here at HealthcareIT Today.com ever since! Well over 300 replies (I have lost count) from readers have responded with their views (…read a few of the most recent ones just received in the first week of this month of July 2012, detailed at the bottom of this post). I’m so happy to report that 99.9% of all of those who have replied over these years – have expressed thier gratitude and requests for additional information regarding my knowledge and information exchange about Healthcare Information Technology (HCIT), specifically the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Jobs Industry I have successfully been part of for over 8 years.

Over these past 3 years of writing my various other EMR Industry blog topics – I continue to appreciate this opportunity that Gwen Darling has provided myself and my fellow bloggers to share our various professional and personal backgrounds through this medium.

I am a successful Vendor Certified EMR Implementation Consultant, as I began to chronicle about my professional experiences here a few years ago (… I’m happy to announce I’m also now a full-fledged HCIT Industry small business owner). As such, I love sharing with my blogging audience, my actual professionald EMR experiences. My goals for these blogs is to continue to provide EMR Job Industry insights and information for those seeking education, training and career paths to jobs in this fast evolving Healthcare IT Jobs market! …so due to the many, many viewer responses to my “baby blog #1” topic – I Got Certified for Healthcare IT Jobs – You Can Too! – these past couple years it has spawned the creativity for my subsequent and related topics for “baby blog #2 and baby blog #3“, specifically related to their first “sibling” – their own “birthdays” and titles are as follows:

Announcement Please! On this day, it is the birth of baby blog #4 (…but seriously folks I’m really not “milking” a 2-year old topic (Ha, Ha) – Maybe this is also my way to celebrate the recent U.S. Supreme Court decsion in favor of the Afordable Care Act or just maybe I feel its still relevant based on some of the most recent replies/inquiries I have received from my blogging audience.

The most sought after inquiry most are asking is (and has been for these past 2 years) – How to get Epic EMR Training and Certification? What better way to utilize this space by showing and sharing what my viewers are seeking and how I respond with some information and guidance about a topic I know so very, very well – hopefully you will understand why this blog was worthy of it’s “birth”:

  • Sandra wrote on: 2012/07/15 at 6:48 pm – I would [like] to get more information on the training for Epic Certification. I am currently a Business Systems Analyst in IT. Are there positions using Epic for what I do? If so, is the certification the main thing I need to get started? – Thanks!
  • Teresa wrote on: 2012/07/14 at 7:26 am – Are there any FREE online resources to get familiar with EPIC or other practice management software? I cannot travel. I live in NC. I have found free websites for Practice Fusion which is web based and a very good resource. I also found a free link to the VistA website for the VA Administration, which is a good spring board to get familiar with the interface. I read that all the other private EMR software is based on the VistA interface design. VistA was the precursor and model for everyone else. Please advise. I am taking the HitPro Clinician Consultant exam in August.
  • Nicole wrote on: 2012/07/12 at 9:57 Hi Shirley, I came across this website and would really appreciate your advice on how I can become Epic certified. I currently work for a a premier medical facility in the NYC area. My position entails assisting various ambulatory departments with transitioning into the new program and I primarily work with administrative staff(Cadence,ADT, Prelude). I would love to learn more about the various modules and very eager to become certified or even credentialed. Unfortunately, my employer will not cover my certification yet I am considering other career options to improve my marketability and enhance my knowledge about the Epic systems. Thank you in advance for any insight you provide. Sincerely, Nicole
  • Candasse wrote on: 2012/07/ at 10:12 pm Would love to have more information as well on how to pursue this! I went to college for the arts, but am really looking forward to going back to school soon and would like to be a part of the healthcare IT field. Is there any specific major or course I should begin with? Thanks in advance for your help.
  • Mani wrote on: 2012/07/10 at 8:30 am
    Hi Shirley! I am currently working for an IT company as a contractor. I am interested in getting trained and certified in Epic. Please send me the information. Also, a little bit of guidance on how you go about getting your first job will be helpful, since I have never worked for a hospital before. Thanks and looking forward to your e-mail.
  • Niharika wrote on 2012/07/09 at 5:08 pm: Please drop me an email on the certification process. How long does it take to complete the course or to go through the certification?

Following is my response to these most recent inquires:

Dear Sandra, Teresa, Nicole, Candasse, Mani, Niharika,

As I have stated several times in my response to the tremendous amount of people nationwide who are seeking Epic certification and training for this vendor’s specific EMR Clinical application – at this time only Epic Systems’ staff provides training for their specific EMR system and this training can lead to certification by means of completion of a series of “projects and exams”. Epic offers this curriculum and certification process only to the Staff (and a few of their authorized “partners” staff) of the healthcare facilities who purchase Epic’s EMR Clinical Applications. The best way to get this opportunity is to get hired by a healthcare facility who has purchased Epic’s EMR Clinical Application (This is how it happened for me in 2005). This employer (the one who hires you and has purchased Epic’s EMR system) will in turn send you to Epic’s headquarters facility in Verona, Wisconsin to be enrolled in this EMR Vendor’s training and certification program. Regarding positions using Epic for what you do – for example utilzing Sandra’s professional background [Business Systems Analyst in IT’], the answer maybe Yes (I don’t know the specifics of all that she does)…but an example of a Epic position based on someone with a ‘Business Systems Analyst in IT’ background could involve Epic’s applications connected to its EMR Clinical applications such as its EMR Billing, Registration and/or Scheduling. So in addition to folks with a clinical professional background, other professions are considered viable to be hired and sent on for the training and certification process. If you are seeking to work with this particular vendor’s EMR system, Yes – you would need to get Epic’s certification to get started. There are other EMR/EHR application vendors such as;Cerner, GE Centricity, McKesson, NextGen, Siemens, etc. and several others like VistA that is utilized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Teresa mentioned a website related to this particular EHR application you may want to visit as well). If your are seeking to get a job working with any of these other EMR/EHR vendor applications, perhaps you should visit their company websites and find out what criteria is required to get training and/or certification to work with their specific application systems.

I provide additional information regarding how I received my first Epic EMR Certification in my Webinar “I Got Certified in Healthcare IT Jobs – You Can Too!” In the “live” Webinar I provide an opportunity for my participants to ask and receive responses to their specific EMR educational and professional goals and challenges.

Regards, Shirley Corsey
www.hcitschool.com | www.SCConsultant.com
Telephone: (609) 704-7256

If this keeps up [such a strong interest in this EMR Jobs Industry topic] – who knows? I may have to keep expanding with additional related blog “babies”. FYI…I come from a family of thirteen!

About the author

Shirley Corsey

Shirley Corsey is a certified Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Consultant/Road Warrior, and owner of her own online training center for the Healthcare Information Technology industry. She is a seasoned Healthcare IT professional with over 25 years experience, with a recent career focus for the past 9 years in the EMR job market.

6 Comments

  • I want to know what is it that health informatics actually does. Where can one work? Specialize in what? ANd can you please tell me the types of jobs/positions offered after MS in HI and the description.
    It seems really interesting but i’m having a really hard trying to picture what goes on in the life of a health care professional!

  • Brahmi,

    Many local community colleges nationwide are providing a ‘Certificate of Acheivement’ curriculum for Electronic Health Records. This program was developed via the HITECH US Govt Stimulas – ARRA. Check your local college and see if they are offering this program in your region of the country. Perhaps this is a good place for you to begin.

    I provide additional regarding how I received my first Epic EMR Certification in my webinar “I Got Certified in Healthcare IT Jobs – You Can Too!” – In the “live” webinar I provide an opportunity for my participants to ask and received my responses to their specific EMR educational and professional questions and goals!

    Regards,
    Shirley Corsey
    http://www.HCITshool.com | http://www.SCConsultant.com
    (609) 704-7256

  • Hi Shirley,
    I am changing careers and kinda lost on where to go at this point. I have been hired on a contract as EHR consultant. I am BSN and have 14 yrs experience as RN. I do forensic review of the Epic EHR records for a big hospital. I was trained on the job and its been a year. My contract is ending and I would like to know what certifications, courses I could take to increase my marketability. I want to be in this Healthcare IT business having learned the Epic systems. Can you direct me to the right path. Thanks Cindy

  • Please assist me in how could I become EPIC certified. I have a degree in Medical Records.

  • HI SHIRLEY,
    PLEASE I WANT TO MAKE AN ENQUIRY IF YOU DO FREE TRAININGS ON CERNER,I WOULD BE GLAD TO WORK WITH YOUR ORGANIZATION.
    THANKS
    GLORIA.

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