Inside CHIME: Apply for Your CHIME Scholarship Today!

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ghickman 5.12.16 by George “Buddy” Hickman, LCHIME, FCHIME, CHCIO
Chairman, CHIME Educaiton Foundation Board; Executive VP & CIO, Albany Medical Center

More than half a dozen scholarships, ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, are available to help CHIME members grow their careers.

From the 30-year health IT veteran, to the newly minted CIO, to the individual who is preparing to become a CIO, we each need to be on our best game. Healthcare is changing too rapidly and too much is at stake to believe that we’ve mastered our profession.

Although CHIME offers best-in-class education and professional development opportunities for members, we also know that budgets are stretched thin as providers of all types grapple with new reimbursement schemes and business models. Unfortunately, training and professional development are often among the first things cut as organizations rein in expenses.

Fear not. CHIME is here to help. The Education Foundation provides scholarships and tuition assistance for members and their staff to attend a number of CHIME-hosted professional development programs, including the CIO Boot Camp, LEAD Forums, the CIO Fall Forum, and local educational offerings. The scholarships are made possible by the generous support of Foundation firms and individual CHIME members, past and present. Last year, the Education Foundation handed out a record 50 scholarships totaling more than $170,000.

Further, the Education Foundation has started a sustainability program. By building a futures fund, scholarships and education may be well subsidized, if not self-supporting, inside the next decade. I invite you all to help create this legacy for our next generation of CIOs.

Our CHIME scholarships, which range from $1,500 to $5,000, are great opportunities for members to expand their scope of knowledge, network with peers and learn best practices. As a long-time CHIME member, Boot Camp faculty member and past board chair, I’ve seen the breadth and scope of CHIME’s educational offerings grow substantially over the years. I’ve also witnessed how these programs help members grow personally and professionally – that, of course, includes me! Our members gain a competitive edge by learning from thought leaders from across the industry by being exposed to best practices and from sharing knowledge with their peers. I invite you to become one of those leaders.

And I highly encourage all of you to check out the available scholarships and apply or invite your people to do so. All applications are due by June 6.

More Inside CHIME Volume 1, No. 17: