P R E S E N T E D BY

Jan Rice, MLS, AHIPMCMLA Credent ia l ing l i a i son

M C M L A We b i n a r

April 1, 2014

A D A P T E D F R O M P R E S E N TAT I O N S C R E AT E D B Y A N N A B E T H C R A B T R E E , A H I P, 2 0 0 3 a n d

J O L E N E M I L L E R , M L S , A H I P, 2 0 1 3

Introduction to the Academy of Health Information

Professionals

Academy of Health Information Professionals

Medical Library Association’s

professional development and career recognition program

What is AHIP?

Why join AHIP?

A structure for professional development

Mentoring and support Encouragement and recognition of

peer-reviewed professional activities “Visible” sign to employers

Who can be a member of AHIP?

MLA members Librarians and other information

professionals who are not members of MLA

2014: 1002 information professionals in AHIP, representing the full range of work

experience and accomplishments found among health information professionals.

Who can be a member of AHIP?

Academic health science librarian Hospital/medical center librarian Nursing librarian Consumer health public librarian Medical/health science indexer Librarian with no health science experience

but would like to obtain a position in the health sciences

New library school graduates who would like to obtain a position in the health sciencesDo you need to be a member of MLA? No!

Am I Eligible to Apply?

Academic PreparationDo you have an ALA-accredited master’s

degree in library and information science? If Yes, Academy level is based on years of

experience following receipt of a master’s degreeIf you have another master’s degree (not

ALA-accredited), you must document coursework in all of MLA’s seven Professional Competencies, regardless of the number of years of professional work experience Fulfilled by documenting minimum of 8 contact hours

of instruction in each competency

7 Professional Competencies(from MLA’s Competencies for Lifelong

Learning and Professional Success)

1 Health Sciences and Health Care Environment and Information Policies

2 Leadership and Management Theory and Techniques

3 Health Sciences Information Services

4 Health Sciences Resource Management

5 Information Systems and Technology

6 Curricula Design and Instruction 

7 Research, Analysis, and Interpretation

Am I Eligible to Apply?

Professional ExperienceThe number of years you have worked in an information-related professional position after attaining your master’s degree helps determine which level of AHIP membership you may achieve.

Is Health Sciences Work Required??

In May 2012, the MLA Board approved a change to the Academy which allows us to consider all professional information work, whether or not it is in the health sciences.

Points will still need to be health sciences library or health information-related, not just library activities or courses, with the rationale that applicants will be improving their health sciences medical librarianship knowledgebase and skills in the profession.

Eligibility of Part-Time Employment

Part-time employment is eligibleMLA documentation explanation:

Part time = 24 hours per week Based on 11 months full time work each year Equivalent of 5 full time years

Include these details on your CV

11 months x 4 wks/mo x 24 hrs = 1056 hrs/year

1056 hrs x 5 years = 5280 hours

Am I Eligible to Apply?

Professional AccomplishmentsYou may earn points for AHIP membership by participating in a wide variety of professional accomplishments, publishing, editing, serving in professional associations, etc.

Note: Activities which are part of your job are not awarded points.

The AHIP Levels

Provisional Member Senior Distinguished Emeritus

Members at each level are full members of the Academy!

Provisional Level

Holds an ALA-accredited MLS or a non-ALA-accredited master’s degree with documented coursework in the 7 Professional Competencies.

Currently employed in an information professional position with less than 5 years of experience, OR

Currently seeking employment with less than 5 years of experience.

For the Provisional level, a mentor is assigned to work with you.

Provisional Level

Must document 8 hours of continuing education each year; these hours will then count toward moving you to the next level at the end of your provisional membership.

Beginning January 2014, must document 5 points of professional accomplishments per year; these too will count toward moving you to a higher level.

Provisional fee is paid at the beginning the provisional period (a maximum of five years) although provisional membership must be renewed annually.

Member Level

Holds an ALA-accredited MLS or a non-ALA-accredited master’s degree with documented coursework in the 7 Professional Competencies.

Has worked in an information professional position for five or more years after attainment of the master’s degree.

Fifty (50) points of professional accomplishments completed in the past 5 years.

Senior Level

Holds an ALA-accredited MLS or a non-ALA-accredited master’s degree with documented coursework in the 7 Professional Competencies.

Has worked in an information professional position for five or more years after attainment of the master’s degree.

Senior Level

Eighty (80) points of professional accomplishments completed in the past 5 years.

No more than 50 points may come from sponsored instruction.

At least 5 of the 80 points must be from professional association activities, not necessarily in MLA

Distinguished Level

Holds an ALA-accredited MLS or a non-ALA-accredited master’s degree with documented coursework in the 7 Professional Competencies.

Has worked in an information professional position for ten or more years after attainment of the master’s degree.

Distinguished Level

One hundred and twenty (120) points of professional accomplishments completed in the past 5 years.

No more than 50 points may be sponsored instruction.

At least 10 of the 120 points must be professional association activities. At least 5 of 120 must be MLA activities.

What counts as “MLA points”?(at least 5 pts required for Distinguished level)

Serving as an officer, a committee chair or committee member of MLA, an MLA chapter, an MLA section, or an active MLA SIG

Serving as a mentor for a Provisional Member in the academy

Developing an MLA continuing education course

Serving as a site coordinator for an MLA teleconference

Conducting oral history interviews for MLA archival purposes

Emeritus Level

Retired from the profession Prior member of the academy at any level

(except Provisional) at the time of retirement, and has been credentialed/certified by MLA for 10 consecutive years at the time of retirement.

No points are required to renew at this level.Send a written request, Emeritus Form, and

copies of your last certificate(s) to MLA headquarters.

No fee to move to Emeritus level

Comparison of AHIP Levels

AHIP Education Info. Professional Professional Max CE ExtraLevels Requirements Work Activity Points Points Assoc Pts

Experience Required Allowed Required

Provisional under 5 yearsat least 8 pts CE

per yearn/a n/a

Member5 or more

years50 points 50 points n/a

Senior5 or more

years80 points 50 points 5 points

Distinguished10 or more

years120 points 50 points

10 points (5 MLA pts)

Emeritus10 or more

years

AHIP member for 10 consecutive years at time of

retirement

n/a n/a

All require an ALA-accredited

master's degree or another

master's plus documented

education in the 7 Professional Competencies

Renewals

Membership lasts 5 years; renew before the end of the 5th year

Renewal may be at the level of previous application Need to prove completion of requirements for that

level NOTE: Provisional members may not extend

Provisional level beyond 5 yearsTo advance to higher level of membership:

Must meet professional experience requirements Must meet accomplishments for that level

Can advance to next level in less than 5 years if you meet the requirements New fee required Starts new 5 year cycle

Application Fees & Time to Renewal

Member Level MLA Member Non-MLA Member

Time to Renewal

Provisional level

$120.00 $240.00 5 years (max)

Member level or above

$195.00 $390.00 5 years(renew

before end of 5th year)

Emeritus No fee No fee n/a

• Fees paid when documentation is uploaded• Application fee is non-refundable

AHIP on MLANET

www.mlanet.org/academy/

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COMING THIS YEAR TO MCMLA . . .

MCMLA Executive Committee recently approved a proposal: One-time grant for full or provisional AHIP

membership $1000 to fund a limited number of first-time,

successful AHIP applications ($120/Provisional; $195/Member or above) Encourage AHIP membership Motivate MCMLA chapter members to become involved

in their profession Remove the financial barrier from the initial application

process

Details will be forthcoming soonStart getting your paperwork together so you

will be ready to take advantage of this funding when it is announced!!

JOLENE MILLER, MLS, AHIP2013-14 CHAIR, MLA CREDENTIALING

COMMITTEE

Tips from the Credentialing Committee

Portfolio Review Process

It begins at MLA Headquarters MLA members: upload your forms and

documentation to MLANET Applicants who are not current MLA

members: create one PDF file of your portfolio and email to MLA HQ

Primary Review An MLA Credentialing Committee

member

Portfolio Review Process

Secondary Review The Credentialing Committee’s Chair-

Designate It ends at MLA Headquarters

You are notified of the outcome

If at any point, there are questions about your portfolio, documentation, etc., a member of the CredComm will contact you. Likewise, if you have any questions, contact MLA HQ.

Helpful Hints: Getting Ready

Review the requirements for the level for which you will be applying. Do you need to document professional association

activity points? Allow yourself time to earn them if you need to.

Do you need to document MLA activity points? Allow yourself time to earn them if you need to.

Review the online point index regularly, paying attention to the required documentation. The Credentialing Committee is often adding new items and new clarifications; the online version is the most current.

Helpful Hints: Getting Ready

Keep organized – keep all documentation in a file or online until you need it.

When you’re ready to apply, get the most current AHIP forms from the web site.

Document more points than you need, within reason. Have more than you need? Pick the easiest ones to

document.

Helpful Hints: Putting it all together

Work experience In your CV, it’s helpful for reviewers if you include

start and end months for each position. If any of your work was part-time, please make note in

your CV of how many hours per week the position entailed.

We now look at all professional library/information work experience following the MLS, not just health science work.

Helpful Hints: Putting it all together

When completing your portfolio, document what you claim and claim what you document.

Keep documentation in the order you’re claiming the points on your ledger.

Supply the required documentation – no more, no less. For example, to document service on a committee,

send a copy of the roster of that committee for the year being claimed, not the entire web page of all rosters for all chapter committees.

Helpful Hints: Putting it all together

Highlight your name on the documentation, if possible.

Special issues with officer/committee terms: You can claim a year of service once the year is

complete. On your ledger, claim each year of service on its own

line; you do not need to wait until a term is complete before you claim individual years of service.

On your ledger, include the start and end months of your service.

KATHLEEN COMBS

Director, Profess iona l Deve lopmentMedical L ibrary Associat ionPhone: (312) 419-9094 X29

Fax: (312) 419-8950Emai l : MLAPD1@MLAHQ.ORG

Questions about Credentialing?

Questions?