Descriptions, Qualifications and Guidelines for Nomination
Leadership Award
Award Description:
The Leadership Award is SDHIMA’s highest award honor. This award celebrates an individual who has demonstrated outstanding service as a leader in the HIM field.
Qualifications:
Qualified individuals are HIM professionals who have made significant contributions to the HIM field to achieve the mission of SDHIMA and AHIMA through dedicated volunteer service, innovative professional practice, education, research, or publishing. These are just a few of the ways an individual qualifies.
Guidelines:
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:
- Volunteer service as an officer, director, committee or council chair or member, task force chair or member, special project director, CoP Facilitator, or representative of the HIM field at government hearings for AHIMA or other national healthcare associations.
- Significant original research or authorship, editing, or service on editorial board for journals, books, monographs, and other publications that advances the HIM profession.
- Advancing professional practice through development of new theory; active dissemination of knowledge about cutting-edge practice innovations; or leadership in specialty area.
- Regular presenter at HIM conferences and other educational events; respected instructor in academic HIM programs; or developer of groundbreaking teaching strategies.
Rising Star Award
Award Description:
The Rising Star Award recognizes and encourages the best of the fresh new talent being trained in health information administration or health information technology degree granting program nationwide. It honors a gifted student or promising new professional who embodies great hope as we look to the future of the HIM profession.
Qualifications:
Qualified individuals are a) students enrolled at the time of nomination in an approved HIA or HIT degree program, or who have graduated in the last three months; or b) HIM professional who have been credentialed within the last seven years. Nominees must demonstrate significant potential for future leadership, innovation, creativity, and administrative capacity.
Guidelines:
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:
- Willingness to change tradition, take risks, and think critically and to lead others in these processes.
- Exceptional problem solving ability with the capacity to envision the “Big Picture” in health information management and to make decisions accordingly.
- Demonstrates excellence in the management of personnel, finances, information systems or other areas of interest.
- Demonstrates commitment to the HIM profession through active participation in local, state, and national AHIMA activities, especially those that promote HIM education.
Mentor Award
Award Description:
The mentor Award honors individuals with long records of encouraging individuals to realize their full potential, who have helped others, find ways to achieve their best.
Qualifications:
Qualified individuals are those who have a long history of support and love for the profession with a strong commitment to touch the lives of HIM individuals and launch us toward new horizons.
Guidelines:
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:
- A record of motivating talented young people to enter the HIM profession.
- Providing ongoing, long term career guidance to HIM professionals.
- Encouraging young professionals to become involved in AHIMA activities at the state and local level and supporting their efforts.
- Fostering enthusiasm for the profession.
- Willingness to provide clinical sites and supervision for multiple students designed to help them achieve exemplary HIM competencies.
- Willingness to assist and mentor health professionals with HIM functions.
- Support of the training process for new professionals through teaching, serving on panels or advisory committees, and advising individual students.