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Burlington County College |
Cancer Registry Certificate Program
A
Growing Need for Qualified Coding Professionals…
The National Cancer Institute estimates that approximately 8.4 million
Americans alive today have a history of cancer. About 1,220,100 new
cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed each year. More and more, these
cancer patients are seeing care from a variety of outpatient or ambulatory care
settings. As this shift from hospital inpatient to outpatient care
continues, there is a growing need for healthcare institutions to gather
complete and accurate data for institutional, state and national reports.
Best
Kept Secret......
It has been called the best kept secret in many institutions, but the cancer
registry plays an important role in how cancer trends are reported and how
cancer care will respond to those trends. The cancer registry, located
within hospital and ambulatory healthcare facilities and data organizations,
complies data on all oncology (cancer) cases seen within its jurisdiction
(institution, state, region, nation) in uniform, consistent and easily
retrievable format. These formats are governed primarily by standards
published by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries
(NAACCR) and the Commission on Cancer. The registry's data helps its
institutions make decisions regarding the oncology program, patient care,
funding and community needs. Using reliable data, institutions can plan
new services, evaluate existing programs, monitor patient care and comply with
regional, state and national reporting requirements.
Career
Outlook.....
As Health Information Management career opportunities continue to grow, there
is a great demand for well-trained professionals to enter this dynamic
field. BCC's approved certificate program will signal to prospective
employers your level of training and readiness to service their
organization. There are more than 1500 cancer registries in the US and
the number is growing.
The Role of the Cancer Registrar......
Certified Cancer Registrars perform a variety of technical health information
functions. They:
· Compile, maintain, monitor and report cancer data for research, quality management, facility planning and marketing
·
Abstract and code
clinical data using appropriate classifications systems
·
Obtain survival data
through yearly follow-up
·
Analyze health
records according to standards set by various local, state and federal
organizations and agencies
·
Participate actively
in medical staff and institution activities including quality management,
institutional funding, medical research data collection, and medical education
BCC's Cancer
Registry Certificate Program
BCC's Certificate program is an educational programs approved by the National
Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA). It is the only approved program in the
state of New Jersey. The program prepares students to serve as cancer
registrars for health care facilities, data organizations and freestanding
cancer registries. Guided by experienced instructors, students acquire
the technical knowledge and skills necessary to maintain a cancer data
collection system that is consistent with medical, administrative, ethical,
legal, and accreditation requirements of the healthcare delivery system.
The program requires a minimum of 44 credits distributed among general
education courses, required certificate courses and electives. A 160-hour clinical practice in a
healthcare facility is required.
Graduates of the
program will be eligible to apply for the national certification examination
sponsored and offered solely by the NCRA’s Council on Certification. Upon successful completion of the
certification exam, the initials “CTR” may be used after your name as a
recognized signal to potential employers of your level of knowledge,
professionalism and training.
Admission
to the Cancer Registry Certificate Program
The Cancer Registry Certificate Program applies selective admission
standards. Therefore, admission to the College does not guarantee
admission to the program. Applicants must be admitted to BCC as a
certificate seeking student and must also qualify for admission to the Cancer
Registry Certification Program based on the following standards:
Ø Graduation from high school, or attainment of a
GED, with successful completion (C grade or better) of high school level
algebra and biology, or equivalent college course work.
Ø Successful completion of all required developmental
courses as determined by the results of the College Assessment of reading,
writing, and math skills.
Ø Successful completion of the Psychological
Services Bureau (PSB) Health Occupations Aptitude Examination. Students must achieve a minimum score
of 25 % on each of the five parts, within one test, taken no more than 2 years
prior to admission to the HIT program.
The five parts include academic aptitude, spelling, reading
comprehension, information in the natural sciences and a vocational adjustment. (Students who score below the 25th
percentile on any one of the five parts of the examination are encouraged to
take the examination again to meet the standard to be considered for program
admission).
Ø Achievement of a minimum grade point average of
2.5 or better in all college level courses taken during the past five years or,
if graduated from high school within the past five years, a minimum “C+”
average during the applicants last year in high school.
Ø Achievement of a BCC cumulative grade point
average of 2.5 or greater at the time of admission.
Ø Submission of a completed Cancer Registry
Certification Program application to the Health
Information Technology academic program director
Ø Applicants who anticipate a part-time status n the
program must have completed all general education requirements before starting
any program level course.
Meeting all admission
standards does NOT guarantee admission into the program. Qualified
applicants will be accepted until all places are filled.
Course
of Study
The Cancer Registry Certificate Program requires a minimum of 44 credits
distributed among general education requirements, certificate courses and
electives in the following manner: 17 General Education courses and 27 Program
Courses. The following is an outline of courses that will be required to
complete the program:
|
Course # |
Description |
Credits |
|
|
General Education Courses |
|
|
Statistics** |
3 |
|
|
MS Access
Techniques and Programming SM |
3 |
|
|
Fund. of
Anatomy and Physiology (lecture) |
3 |
|
|
Fund. of Anatomy
and Physiology (lab) |
1 |
|
|
Fund. of
Anatomy and Physiology (lecture) |
3 |
|
|
Fund. of
Anatomy and Physiology (lab) |
1 |
|
|
|
Elective (CIS118
recommended)** |
3 |
|
|
Program Courses |
|
|
Medical
Terminology** |
2 |
|
|
Pathology** |
3 |
|
|
HIT
Statistics and Quality Improvement** |
3 |
|
|
Management
and Personnel** |
3 |
|
|
MIS
Applications in HIT** |
3 |
|
|
Cancer
Registry Principles and Practice** |
3 |
|
|
Cancer
Registry Coding and Staging I** |
3 |
|
|
Cancer
Registry Coding and Staging II** |
4 |
|
|
Cancer
Registry Clinical Practice*** |
3 |
|
|
TOTAL |
|
44 |
**Courses
are available in web-based format
***Clinical Practice involves a 160-hour clinical affiliation be performed
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