The role of health data and health information professionals has never been more prevalent across the country than it has been over the past two years during a global pandemic. Together, we can leverage this moment and bring greater awareness and status to the work we do.

Introducing community facilitators

CHIMA is investing in community facilitators to create an inclusive environment—one where we can hear from all our members through meaningful discussions and knowledge sharing.

Michael M^cGill, CHIM, CIAPP-P, a former Saskatchewan (SK) chapter volunteer and soon-to-be BCYT volunteer, shared his excitement about what the new community facilitators can offer: “This new role will help to ensure that all interested members are heard, and their opinions are included and valued.” M^cGill adds, “To me, this is a continuation of the amazing work and evolution that CHIMA brings to the entire profession nationwide!”  

CHIMA’s CEO & Registrar, Jeff Nesbitt, also speaks on the role of the community facilitators: “Community facilitators will be working closely with our operations team, acting as the bridge between a chapter’s needs at a grassroots level and the organization’s strategic directions.”

Finally, a volunteer with the SK chapter, Rushik Patel, CHIM, adds, “I believe the community facilitator role will enable better access for members to contribute and connect with CHIMA.”

What you can look forward to

Semi-annual chapter community meetings

This year, our community facilitators will encourage and leverage member participation and volunteerism by hosting semi-annual chapter community meetings, a new benefit of CHIMA membership. CHIMA members will be able to earn continuing professional education (CPE) credits for their participation and volunteer through working groups that interest them. One example could be an event-focused working group to elevate the voices of thought leaders, subject matter experts, and colleagues in respective provinces and territories.

Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (NSPE) chapter volunteer Roberta Green, CHIM, had this to say on working groups: “It’s important to hear from all of our members to assist with planning for the organization to bring to light members’ perspectives, and expertise. This will allow us to encompass our common values as a profession.”

We invite all members to sign up for their upcoming CHIMA chapter community meeting taking place in July 2022.

Networking sessions

The chapters have been coming together, in instances like HIP Week 2021 and Data and Information Quality Week 2022, to organize virtual networking sessions for members.

At a recent networking event titled ‘Making connections to improve data and information quality,’ members gathered to connect on skills and ways to improve data and information quality. Angela Charbonneau, CHIM, an application administrator at Shared Health Manitoba, provided her thoughts on the experience: “It was absolutely insightful and included awesome people. There was a lot of knowledge shared with advice and concerns that were genuine. I’ll be doing another one soon.”

The next networking session, ‘Making connections to improve privacy awareness,’ will take place on May 4, 2022, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm Eastern time. We will walk you through an introduction to the session and then break out into rooms facilitated by our CHIMA chapter volunteers. Maybe you’re looking to learn more about privacy legislation, understand confidentiality, or learn to develop policies around releasing information—our goal is to see if there are people in the audience who can help point you in the right direction.

Welcome events

Our chapters have been working toward developing a structure to welcome new professional members to CHIMA. Supporting this, our board chair, Monique Rasmussen, CHIM, CCDIS, attended a pilot event with the BCYT chapter on March 30, 2022, to discuss her journey in health information management and employment considerations. The event earned a 9.25 out of 10 rating, indicating the value of welcoming new members to recognize their role within CHIMA and the Canadian College of Health Information Management, understand the employment landscape in their jurisdictions, and navigate their dashboard through echima.ca.     

Rasmussen says, “I’m looking forward to participating in future events that honour the hard work and determination of our newly certified professionals. It will be impactful to learn from our members and provide key information so that they can make the most out of their membership with CHIMA.”

There are incredible opportunities to come together and
elevate the work of our members from coast to coast to coast. 

Kait Greer, MI, CHIM, says these are exciting times and shares her experience as a member of the BCYT chapter: “It has been a rewarding experience to represent the BCYT chapter over the last four years and to be involved in the evolution of the chapter model. The introduction of community facilitators, chapter community meetings, and networking sessions presents an opportunity to be engaged with the health information community more than ever, and I encourage everyone to find meaningful ways to participate.”

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The continuing evolution of our chapters

If you’re following the evolution of our chapters, you can access last year’s annual general meeting and reference page six (6) of the 2020/2021 Accountability Report to see these efforts are a continuation of our approved strategy from our board of directors.