The Value of Mentoring Among HI Professionals

Mentorship programs come in many shapes and sizes, but are a common offering among professional associations like AHIMA. In health information (HI), where job opportunities continue to rapidly develop and evolve, peer-to-peer mentorship programs can be particularly effective. Through the AHIMA mentorship program, M2M Connect, early-career HI professionals are able to learn from seasoned leaders about various career pathways at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and business.

Annually, prospective mentees apply to M2M Connect. Applications for the 2025 program are now open online. Mentees complete a survey about what they are trying to achieve through the program, but they are also matched based on location, time zone, and commonality in work settings.

Once mentees are selected, they are matched with a mentor and the pairs meet at least monthly throughout the six-month program.

Mentors share their expertise and insights, and in collaboration, they create a set of personalized career goals with the mentee and an action plan to achieve them. This direct feedback and career guidance help mentees manage current and future workplace challenges.

M2M Connect has advantages beyond the big benefit of a career map. Interviews with the M2M Connect “Class of 2024” illustrate just how valuable impactful mentorship relationships can be. Read on to hear from AHIMA members about their thoughts on the new interests, opportunities, and relationships they cultivated by participating in the program.

New Interests

The more Polly Tsai, BSN, RN, learned about nursing informatics and various electronic health record systems, the more interested she became in exploring HI roles that would use the skills she acquired in a decade-long nursing career.

"I want to look into how I can use data and my clinical background to improve processes and clinical decision-making guidelines," Tsai says. "When I decided to participate in the M2M Connect program, I was pursuing non-clinical nurse positions while attempting to learn new [HI] skills through professional development and self-study programs."

Tsai has refined her goals since meeting her mentor, Mona Calhoun, PhD, MS, MEd, RHIA, FAHIMA, AHIMA Board Past President. Her conversations with Calhoun uncovered that clinical documentation integrity and data analytics could be ideal pathways for her.

"With the encouragement and resources she has provided, I am learning the positions I am more suited for and the skills and knowledge I should acquire to get my foot in the door," Tsai says. As a result, she believes her career change will be successful.

Calhoun is new to M2M Connect but appreciated the opportunity to develop her coaching, communication, and problem-solving skills. Witnessing aspiring professionals achieve their goals has been rewarding, too.

"We should never forget where we started, and I believe as mentors and leaders, we have an obligation to help others," says Calhoun. The partnership allowed her to reflect on her professional journey and accomplishments, recalling how and what she learned over the years of her own career to guide Tsai better.

"[Mentorship] motivates me to stay informed and relevant, and to keep learning and improving my skills," says Calhoun. "I plan to continue to volunteer as a mentor and encourage others to do so."

New Opportunities

After working as a medical biller for three years, Sonja Williamson, RHIT, wanted to pursue a revenue cycle management career. Even after earning the Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) credential, she struggled to make a career move.  

"I had been feeling stuck and not really sure about the direction I should go in, so learning about the M2M Connect program couldn't have come at a better time," she says.

Williamson matched with Debra Boppre, MSM, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, FAHIMA, 2024 AHIMA Speaker of the House of Delegates. Boppre was happy to share experiences from her nearly 40 years in the industry. "It's been extremely rewarding to see [Williamson] grow, reaching out to try different things, and become more confident," Boppre says.

Williamson says Boppre's advice and reassurance have changed her outlook. She began applying for positions she previously felt were out of reach. Their conversations also created a space for Williamson to talk through her future career plans and current workplace challenges. "She has given great insight on how to handle these issues," says Williamson. "I didn't expect to get so much wisdom and guidance, and I will forever be grateful for this opportunity."

Boppre plans to mentor again and has appreciated the program's structure, accountability, and resources, which have fostered good mentoring habits. "It's a great opportunity for anyone in a leadership role," she says.

New Relationships

After nearly a decade in HI roles, Heather Louisiana, RHIT, CCHP, knew she wanted to go deeper in the field. She had gotten her start as a hospital scan technician before eventually accepting an HI specialist job with the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC).

"On the prison side, you do a lot of release of information and requesting hospital records," Louisiana explains. "I really enjoyed it. But you're not coding or doing anything with revenue cycle, and I wanted to branch out." While working for the DOC, she completed an associate degree in HI management and earned her RHIT credential.

Afterward, she accepted an HI manager position at a Washington state hospital. "I had seen the ads for the mentorship program and thought that it might be good to see how a mentor could help me relearn some things as I got back into the hospital side," says Louisiana.

She was paired with AHIMA Board President/Chair Maria Caban Alizondo, PhD, MOL, RHIT, FAHIMA. Although Caban Alizondo has participated in various mentoring programs throughout her career, she says the M2M program has been the most rewarding because it offers "learning and growing—two of my favorite things."

She says the program has been easy to navigate and the mentoring resources made available to participants were informative and practical. The meetings with Louisiana helped her “think about things in new ways and reminded me that the value of experience can be enjoyed anywhere along our professional practice," adds Caban Alizondo.

Louisiana feels similarly. Even though they are at different career points, she found the interactions very relatable. She says speaking with another HI professional helped "to bounce around ideas, get reassurance on work processes, and gain more confidence in conversations."

Louisiana plans to become certified in Healthcare Privacy and Security (CHPS) and earn the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) credential. She says that Caban Alizondo was instrumental in supporting her studies, and it's reassuring to know that the relationship can continue after the mentorship.

Caban Alizondo is also excited about what lies ahead. "The mentee-mentor relationship is something that is nurtured and grows over time, and when this happens with professionals who have shared experiences, the outcome can be long-lasting relationships," she says. "I would recommend [the program] and will do it again."

Steph Weber is a Midwest-based freelance journalist specializing in healthcare and law.