Practicum Classes
HIT 275 HIT Practicum
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When should I start the process of lining up a site for my practicum?
Once registered for HIT 275, the instructor will email you to ask for 3-5 potential
sites in your area. The email will be sent in December for the spring semester and
in July for the fall semester.
2. How do I identify potential sites?
Determine acute care hospital sites that are close to you and begin contacting the
HIM Director or Manager to introduce yourself and inquire as to the possibility of
them hosting your practicum. The email sent by the instructor will include details
regarding the practicum and documents that should be shared with the sites so that
they can make a decision. If the site is able to host or considering hosting a practicum,
let them know that the instructor will be contacting them. The student will send contact
information regarding the site to the instructor. The contact information should include
hospital name, address, HIM Director/Manager name, phone number and email address
if possible.
HINT: If you had a positive experience with your HIT 101 department tour, you may want
to consider that facility as a possible site.
3. Who do I contact at the site?
The student should first contact the HIM Director or Manager.
4. Is it okay to contact the practicum instructor in the semester prior to taking
the class to get everything lined up?
Yes, that is fine. However, the instructor will be contacting all registered students
in the prior semester or summer before the start of the semester.
5. Can I do the practicum at a facility where I currently work?
Students can complete the practicum at a facility where they work as long as they
are not performing their daily function and are not being paid for the hours. For
example, a coder could not do the coding portion of the HIT Degree Practicum at their
facility.
6. Can work hours count toward practicum hours?
No.
7. How many hours must be completed at the facility?
160 hours unless the student is having difficulty finding a site and/or the site is
unable to provide the total hours. In those cases, the student can participate in
the partial virtual practicum set up in the HIT 275 class. The partial virtual practicum
could provide between 40-80 hours depending on what the student has accomplished in
other classes, i.e., HIT 101, EHR scavenger hunt and HIT 280, virtual coding practicum.
8. Can hours be done through any virtual practicum experience?
If the student is having difficulty finding a site and/or the site is unable to provide
the total hours, the student can participate in the partial virtual practicum set
up in the HIT 275 class. The partial virtual practicum could provide between 40-80
hours depending on what the student has accomplished in other classes, i.e., HIT 101,
EHR scavenger hunt and HIT 280, virtual coding practicum.
HIT 280 Coding Practicum
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When to start the process?
Start the process in the current term for which you have registered for HIT 280 at
the beginning of the semester. It is vital that you login to course are review all
posted/provided course materials.
2. How to identify sites:
Students are asked to provide 5 possible sites in their specific geographical area
to course instructor.
3. Who to make contact with:
Course instructor is contacted via course email.
4. It is okay to contact the practicum instructor in the semester prior to taking
the class to get everything lined up?
No, please wait until the beginning of the term for which you have registered for
HIT 280.
5. How much time outside of the work at the facilities should be dedicated to the
practicum class?
Students who go onsite to a healthcare facility for HIT 280 also have to complete
online assignments and submit a research paper. Time to complete this work will vary
per student. Most likely student will need 10 hours to complete other HIT 280 work
that is in additional to coding of 40 required records.
6. Can students do the practicum at a facility where they work currently, for example,
as a coder (for HIT 280)?
Students can do practicum at facility where they work but it cannot be during their
normal work hours. A coder can code charts at facility they work at but hours for
coding of 40 required charts/records cannot be during normal work hours and cannot
be charts that coder/student would normally code.
7. Can work hours count toward practicum hours?
No, per AHIMA and CAHIIM work hours cannot count toward practicum required work.
8. How many hours must be completed at the facility?
For HIT 280, hours will vary per student. Students are required to code 40 charts/records;
20 inpatient records and 20 outpatient records.
9. Can hours be done through any virtual practicum experience?
For HIT 280 students have option to do coding of 40 required records/charts either
in virtual format (Moodle course) or by going onsite to an acute care healthcare facility
CIM 275 CIM Practicum
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When should I start the process of organizing my practicum?
CIM 275 is offered every semester – fall, spring and summer. You should contact the
practicum instructor via email the semester prior to enrolling in CIM 275. The instructor
will provide you with more specific information about the expectations and nature
of the practicum in the email response. This email will include the details of the
practicum as well as a handbook for site supervisors which will give these individuals
an outline of exactly what must be included in the practicum activities. You will
want to provide any potential site supervisor with a copy of the handbook for site
supervisors. This will aid the site in making the decision.
Go to the Commission on Cancer website Hospital Locator tool at http://datalinks.facs.org/cpm/CPMApprovedHospitals_Search.htm Enter your city, state, zip code and radius (5 to 50 miles). Click the “Start Search” button. The search results will appear, along with the distance from the zip code you provided. If you click on the “detail” button next to the name of one of the facilities listed, the address, phone number and website of that facility will come up. Go to the facility’s website and find the contact information for the cancer registry. Call (or email) the registry office to introduce yourself and inquire as to the possibility of them hosting your practicum. If the site is willing to host your practicum, let the potential site supervisor know that your instructor will be contacting them. At that point, you will send the instructor the contact information regarding the site including the hospital name and address, as well as the phone number and email address of the CTR who will be supervising the clinical practicum.
HINT: If you had a positive experience with your CIM 100 site visit, you may want to consider that facility as a possible site.
3. Who do I contact first?
The student should first contact the CTR who will be supervising the clinical practicum.
4. Is it okay to contact the practicum instructor in the semester prior to taking
the class to get everything lined up?
Yes, that is the best way to ensure everything is ready for your practicum prior to
the semester in which you plan to complete your practicum begins.
5. How much time outside of the work at the facilities should be dedicated to the
practicum class?
We work through five cases on the CIM 275 discussion forum. The time you spend on
these five cases may be counted toward the 160 hours and the cases can be counted
as 5 of the 30 required abstracts.
6. Can students do the practicum at a facility where they currently work?
Students may complete the practicum at a facility where they work as long as they
are not performing their daily function and are not being paid for the hours.
7. Can work hours count toward practicum hours?
No.
8. How many hours must be completed at the facility?
You are required to complete 160 hours for your practicum class. If placed at the
beginning of the semester, that is 10 hours per week. The schedule is determined by
the student and the site. Most sites require students to be available week days during
the day shift, although there are limited opportunities to do a portion of the practicum
remotely and/or on weekends.
9. Can hours be done through any virtual practicum experience?
There currently is no virtual practicum component for CIM 275. Once the NCRA completes
the Cyber Registry, students may be allowed to complete 40-80 hours of their clinical
practice through the Cyber Registry.
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