Cancer Registrar, Post-Degree Professional Certificate

To be eligible for this program, students must have a minimum of an associate degree in a healthcare field of study. However, graduates of an accredited Health Information Management degree program are best suited for this certificate. Students who do not have a health care degree that includes an Introduction to Medical Terminology, two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology, and Pathophysiology will be required to complete these courses with a “B” grade or higher before applying for admission to the program.

Students who complete the Cancer Registrar post-degree certificate will be eligible to take the certification exam for Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR) provided by the National Association of Cancer Registrars’ Association.

This program is available to be completed 100% online.

Program contact: Learn more

Financial Assistance funds cannot be applied towards this program.

This certificate will be automatically awarded when the certificate requirements are completed. If you do not want to receive the certificate, please notify the Office of the Registrar at RegistrarOffice@tri-c.edu.

Learn more here and here about how certificate credits apply to the related degree.

Related Degrees and Certificates

• Health Information Management Technology, Associate of Applied Science

Program Admission Requirements

• Students must have at a minimum an Associate Degree (or higher) in allied health or nursing from an ACE accredited College that includes the following courses:

  Course List

  Code	Title	Credit Hours
  BIO-2331	Anatomy and Physiology I (with “B” grade or higher)	4
  BIO-2341	Anatomy and Physiology II (with “B” grade or higher)	4
  BIO-2600	Pathophysiology (with “B” grade or higher)	3
  MATH-1xxx	MATH-1000 level or higher (with grade of "C" or higher)
  Select one of the following:		3
  ENG-1010	College Composition I
  ENG-101H	Honors College Composition I
  Select one of the following:		2-5
  MA-1010	Introduction to Medical Terminology (with “B” grade or higher)
  MA-1020 & MA-2010	Medical Terminology I and Medical Terminology II (with “B” grade or higher)

• Time limit on biology courses is seven years unless the student is currently working in the healthcare field.
• 2.0 GPA
• 25 students accepted per year
• Graduates of an accredited HIM degree program are best suited for this certificate. Current credential is not required for admission to the program. Students who do not have a degree that includes the above courses must complete the courses before applying for the CTR program.

Program Learning Outcomes

This program is designed to prepare students to demonstrate the following learning outcomes: 

1. Identify and comply with diverse workplace cultures, specifically in regard to dress code, code of conduct, and relationships with internal and external stakeholders
2. Apply federal, state, and organizational regulations in regard to confidentiality and security.
3. Explain the significance of applying clinical knowledge pertaining to diagnostics, treatment modalities, extent of disease, and surveillance in order to ensure complete and accurate cancer reporting.
4. Abstract and analyze health record information and convert to numerical data that aligns with industry principles and guidelines.
5. Utilize oral and written skills to effectively communicate and interact with health care professionals, colleagues, administration, and internal and external customers to promote quality oncology research and statistical outcomes.
6. Exhibit proficiency using Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Power Point, & Outlook) as well as other software technologies and discuss the potential of data exchange across systems.
7. Apply knowledge of industry recognized data fields to effectively utilize cancer registry software.
8. Effectively utilize virtual meeting software in a professional manner.
9. Differentiate between the various roles and reporting structures, while prioritizing tasks according to immediate needs.

Suggested Semester Sequence

MATH-1140, MATH-1141, MATH-1200, MATH-1270, and MATH-1280 can no longer count towards fulfilling the college-level mathematics requirement.  These courses were re-classified as developmental mathematics by the state of Ohio in 2016.  Tri-C established a 5-year transitioning window for students who had completed these courses prior to 2016 to apply them towards meeting graduation requirements, which expired in Summer 2021. It is highly recommended to see a counselor to determine the appropriate math required for your current major.