College of DuPage Offers New Cancer Registry Management Certificate Program

The new Cancer Registry Management program at College of DuPage will prepare students for positions as cancer registrars who capture the history, diagnosis, treatment and health status for every cancer patient in the U.S.

Approved by the Illinois Community College Board, the program will prepare students to sit for the national board examination to become a Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR). Students must have an associate degree or higher to pursue the certificate, which ideally is considered an advanced career path for health information professionals who are either a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) or a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA).

"Only a handful of accredited Cancer Registry Management Certificate programs exist in the U.S.," said Vickie Gukenberger, former Associate Dean of Nursing and Health Sciences. "Because the College has a highly regarded HIT program in place, the new certificate was a perfect fit into our curriculum and will provide much-needed skilled employees in a fast-growing profession."

The information that registrars collect is essential to researchers, healthcare providers and public health officials, who use it to better monitor and advance cancer treatments, conduct research, and improve cancer prevention and screening programs, Gukenberger said.

The 24 credit hour certificate program will require a separate admissions process from general admission to College of DuPage. Seven new courses have been created for the certificate, including "Professional Practice Experience," which includes 160 hours in the clinical setting.

For information, call (630) 942-2259, email healthcareadvising@cod.edu or visit www.cod.edu/programs/health_info/cancer_registry_management.