By Jacqui Rose, CRA
April 2013—This past fall, the CRAs were gracious enough to elect me to a second term as a RACC commissioner, and for that I am truly grateful. I thought it would be helpful to share with you what the RACC does for its current and future CRA members.
The marketing team is working to bring additional value to our credential. We are strategically partnering with other imaging organizations and human resources departments to increase the importance of the credential within our industry. We are also expanding to include the non-traditional market to maximize our value and market base. We have broadened our reach to social media also! Have you visited us on Facebook or LinkedIn? We are also introducing a new line of logo-wear – click here to check it out!
The entire commission works on item (question) writing for the test and recruiting interested individuals to assist in this effort. After the new items are complete, then we do the cut score testing to determine and validate the pass point. This is particularly fun since we all get to take the test again. Imagine preparing for it once, then taking it multiple times as a RACC commissioner. I remember the first time I was involved in the cut score function and the panic that set in when they shared that, yes, I would be taking the test again! I was so nervous the first time, and I prepared for about nine months. This time, there was no preparation period and all I could think was “what if I bomb it this time?!” As it goes, I have been a commissioner for just over three years and have taken that test two additional times. The good news is that I did pass, every time! It is a great process to experience.
We wouldn’t want to forget everyone’s favorite pastime: writing, reviewing, and updating policies. No matter how hard we try, they follow us everywhere! We just finished an extensive review of the current policies to assure that they are current and evidence based. A great deal of time was spent researching similar organizations to assure that our policies are evidence based, just like in our other jobs.
Commissioners also deal with questions and requests from individuals. Each request or question is brought to the monthly commission meetings for resolution. And let’s not forget budgeting – we do that too. As you can see, we do much the same as each of us do in our “regular” job, not to mention hitting every one of the domains that the CRA exam covers, asset management, communications and information, fiscal management, human resources and operations management. Being a RACC commissioner is certainly not easy, but it is rewarding. Thank you for this opportunity, and please be sure to contact us if you have specific ideas for us to work on!
Jacqui Rose, CRA is the director of imaging services at Upper Valley Medical Center in Troy, OH. She can be reached at jfrose@uvmc.com.