Let’s Open More Jobs to HI Graduates, Not Close Them
Editor’s Note: This is an opinion piece submitted to the Journal of AHIMA. The opinions here reflect the author and not AHIMA.
A graduate must complete 62 credit hours on average in an accredited program to earn an associate degree in health information. This doesn’t count the time spent studying, nor the financial investment in tuition, materials, and books. A test comes next for certification in the subfield of choice. In the growing field of health information, the possibilities seem endless for future career choices after completing these steps.
However, as many new graduates begin their job search, certification and degree in hand, they find the door to employment blocked by a lack of experience. Positions offering training for new graduates are often limited and highly competitive. Often, job requirements demand experience in the field that a new graduate simply hasn’t had the opportunity to accumulate. Medical coding needs to be precise, and experience can help ensure the newly hired coder can provide it.
The new graduate unfortunate enough not to land a position with an employer welcoming a newcomer to the field is stuck in a precarious position. Dozens of applications can lead to a lack of response in many cases and a professionally worded rejection email in others. We all need to make a living and these new graduates can only stay on the job market for so long before looking elsewhere in desperation. If they’re lucky, they’ll manage to find a similar position that may count toward the needed experience for a position in our field. Some may not be as lucky and end up trudging along with a degree they’ll likely never use, like many others in the United States. It’s almost become a trope, the college graduate who works in a field where they never needed their degree, and it undermines the importance of education and striving to improve our future.
Accepting ‘Moldable New Professionals’
Given its large scope, health information should not join the annals of unused college degrees for anyone who wishes to move into the field. The way that we can keep the door open for new professionals is for more employers to be willing to accept and train new graduates. In doing so, we give opportunities to bring new ideas, new enthusiasm, and moldable new professionals to our field. Bridging the gap between graduation and employment can help employers and new employees alike and keep the field dynamic for years to come.
Perhaps we, as a professional community, could consider more internships and apprenticeship opportunities to keep the field accessible for those just entering the workforce. These opportunities are vital for someone just starting out.
In the medical field, opportunities are more numerous despite still being too few for the number of new graduates. Nurses typically have hospitals willing to help their foray into nursing as a profession in exchange for contracted employment. Doctors, of course, have residencies that allow them to build professional experience so they can hope to move on to more prestigious positions or their private practice down the line. In doing so, the medical profession makes those considering the field as a career more confident they will be able to find employment after college.
The more stories there are of new graduates lacking the opportunity to get a good position in the subfield of their choice after college, the more hesitant future students may be to major in health information. After all, most students study in the field they want to pursue after graduation. Why major in an area that will not allow you in the door? It would be a waste of money and time, not to mention terribly disappointing. It’s an unfortunate paradox, needing experience for a job and needing a job for experience. But with more effort, employers can ensure that the future is brighter for all health information graduates.
Kayla Bastin, RHIT, is a 2022 graduate of Sinclair Community College and resides in Ohio. She also earned her RHIT certification in 2022.