Cancer Registry Summary

The cancer registry track was developed to be an elective course of study for students currently in the HIM program as well as for those persons who are not interested in the HIM associate?s degree.  Thus, two plans are offered to obtain the cancer registry education.   Students who are interested in the cancer registry track and who do not plan to obtain the UAMS CHRP HIM degree may follow the Continuing Education (CE) plan as described in Option 1.  For those students who are interested in both the cancer registry track and the HIM degree and credential may follow the plan as described in Option 2.

All students pursuing the Cancer Registry Track will be eligible to sit for the national examination in cancer registry.  Passing this examination earns the Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR) credential.  Alumni of the HIM program at UAMS (i.e., those who already posses the A.S.M.R.T.) will also be eligible to complete the 10 SC hours of the cancer registry track for CTR eligibility, but without repeating any previous courses.  This can be accomplished over three semesters of part-time study, allowing concurrent employment if desired or two semesters of full-time study.

The curriculum to prepare a cancer registrar will consist of the content obtained in either the Continuing Education (CE) courses, courses students may transfer in which are considered by the UAMS CHRP Registrar to be equivalent to the HIM required courses, or if a current HIM degree seeking student, those courses already established within the A.S.M.R.T. degree.  The courses of the focused cancer registry track program include four (4) additional courses in the principles of the registry database, coding and staging of disease, epidemiology, and professional practice in a registry setting.  The program is designed to address the need for qualified cancer registrars in the state of Arkansas.  It requires clinical faculty for the professional practice rotations as well as program faculty to teach the coursework.  The current physical facilities of the HIM department?s classroom/laboratory will be utilized for this program as well as distance learning technology to reach students in UAMS? Area Health Education Centers (AHEC?s) throughout Arkansas. 

Students who have taken courses elsewhere and feel these are equivalent in credit hours and content should contact the HIM Program Chairman for review of the students? transcripts.  Official transcripts are reviewed for approval by the HIM Program Chairman and/or the CHRP Registrar.  After the four pre-requisite courses have been completed, (Medical Terminology, Anatomy & Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Management) the student may then progress to the four cancer registry courses.  For those students who have had no previous college credit, they may take the four pre-requisite courses and upon completion of these and then the four cancer registry courses as continuing education credit, these students the receive a certificate of completion from the UAMS HIM program and should be able to sit for the CTR examination (once approved by NCRA).

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