Why I Founded the Healthcare IT School of New Jersey

As the nation moves toward industry-wide adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a shortage of about 50,000 qualified health IT workers to meet the needs of hospitals and healthcare affiliates. In spite of the nationwide college and university level HIT courses and even the US Government sponsored Health IT workforce program, those of us in the Healthcare IT Industry have been hearing about this shortage in many online blogs, reports and articles since at least 2009 and this vast Health IT workforce shortage has not changed.

Following are just a few online reports regarding this topic:

2010: The Workforce Challenge
2012: HIT Workforce Shortages Dog Industry

2013: Workforce Shortages Hampering HIT Incentives Efforts

2013: Solving the talent equation for health IT

My question: Why has this reported 50,000 Health IT workforce shortage number not changed? (perhaps this is a topic for the next blog post, feel free to comment why you think this is apparently so).

My answer: I founded the Healthcare IT School of New Jersey to help fill this void! We are a State of New Jersey approved vocational school with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) and also the NJ Department of Education. As such, our training and employment program is listed on the Eligible Training Providers List on the State of NJ Training Opportunities Website. Unemployment training grant opportunities through statewide ‘one-stop career’ centers are available here. But since our training is entirely online, it’s available to students from anywhere in the US!  Our training and job placement program is an all-inclusive career path that prepares our participants with what they need to know to get hired by hospitals and clinics that seek candidates with specific EMR/EHR skills and capabilities such as knowing how to:

  • Document how a medical practice operates – Workflow Analysis
  • Build Order Sets, Flowsheets, Progress Notes, Automated Medical Phrases and Terms
  • Build Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) Preference List
  • Utilize supplemental technical tools required to support EMR / EHR software implantation           
  • Set-up and support the EMR / EHR software testing and training environment
  • Be prepared for the specific EMR / EHR Health IT Workforce Job Role best suited for your professional background and experience.

Through our enhanced online ‘state-of-the-art’ Learning Management System and distance learning curriculum, we are able to prepare students with the best, most informative training, preparing them for the Certified Healthcare Technology Specialist (CHTS) Exams. Our graduates earn continued education units (CEUs) for each CHTS exam they pass, which may be applied toward an existing American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Credential.   Interested in learning more to determine if the Healthcare IT School of New Jersey will take you in the direction you want to go?  Start by filling out our no-obligation Professional Assessment Form, so we can match your current skills and background with the best EHR career path for you – we look forward to hearing from you!

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.

   

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