Research Training Institute

The Research Training Institute is now accepting applications for the 2008-2009 program.  The brochure for the program is here.  The application deadline is April 14, 2008.

Report from 2007-2008 Program

The Foundation of Research and Education (FORE) of AHIMA initiated the Research Training Institute this year in cooperation with the College of St. Scholastica on the CSS campus from August 6 - 11, 2007.  The objective of this year-long opportunity is to support and train HIM professionals interested in pursuing research as a part of their career.  Shirley Eichenwald-Maki, MBA, RHIA, FAHIMA is the inaugural Program Director.  Val Watzlaf, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA and Bill Rudman, PhD, RHIA are first-year faculty along with FORE staff members Carol Nielsen, MLS and Susan Fenton, PhD, RHIA.  The participants accepted for the first year consisted of 5 HIM professionals involved in teaching, along with 3 HIM practitioners.

The week-long onsite program in August consisted of a variety of activities with the primary goal of outlining a feasible research project for each participant.  Work began prior to the meeting in August, with participants receiving background readings and preparatory exercises.  Everyone was asked to bring a research focus area or idea.  Using the framework of a research logic model everyone worked together to identify the importance, aims, questions, hypotheses and methods for their ideas and areas of interest.  CSS librarians, Brad Snelling and Julie Rustad, conducted a session on literature searches.  The in-depth discussion sessions were augmented by faculty presentations on writing hypotheses and research goals, research study designs, funding sources, and writing the research proposal.  By the end of the week each participant had a draft research logic model and had developed an action plan for the next several months.  Each participant was also assigned a faculty mentor for assistance and ongoing support. 

Topics of interest include:

• HIM leadership skills
• IT fluency skills of HIM professionals
• SNOMED assignment consistency
• Outcomes assessment using web-based medication management with vulnerable populations
• Public health data element standardization
• Use of the PHR by athletes
• Attitudes and workflow issues in EHR implementation and use

Participants had the following comments:            

• This far exceeded my expectations.  The quality of the faculty was excellent and the individual attention priceless.
• I feel the quality of the Research Institute has been excellent so far.  The Research Institute is an opportunity that I feel has been worth taking the risk to attend.
• I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I’m leaving with far more than I had hoped:  developed research ideas, starts on proposals, contacts, a to-do list, more confidence to proceed, respected research colleagues and new friends.
• In my opinion, we achieved the appropriate balance of instruction, coaching, mentoring and application of learning this week.  The unstructured periods of time were helpful to process and integrate the information into individual and potential collaborative research opportunities.
• I am grateful to the visionaries who conceived and then executed the institute. I look forward to the upcoming webinars and continued learning and camaraderie.

The next parts of the program consist of regularly scheduled meetings with faculty mentors, as well as three separate webinar sessions during the fall and spring to continue learning about research methods.  The onsite program will reconvene in Duluth, MN in August 2008.

Participants will be given a certificate upon completion.  More importantly, they will be added to the community of HIM researchers.  They will take these skills back to their organizations where they can continue to do research and bring rigor to their work.  A strong community of HIM researchers will help to meet the FORE Research goals of creating new HIM knowledge and supporting effective HIM practices for the benefit of the health care industry.

The Research Training Institute was designed as an ongoing program.  A brochure and application for the 2008-2009 program was distributed at the annual convention. The deadline for applying is April 14, 2008, with the decision announced no later than May 16, 2008.  The class size in 2008 is limited to 10.  Persons with questions can contact Susan Fenton, PhD, RHIA, FORE Director of Research at 312-233-1532 or susan.fenton@ahima.org.

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