Brittney Perry, RHIT, CTR serves as Quality Control Manager for the Registry Partners Oncology Division.
Prior to joining Registry Partners, Brittney served for four years as Tumor Registrar and three years as a Health Information Technician at UnityPoint Health – Methodist in Peoria, Illinois. She was responsible for various registry operations functions during her tenure as Tumor Registrar.
Brittney earned her Associates Degree in Health Information Technology from Midstate College in Peoria, IL and is a Registered Health Information Technologist (RHIT) and Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR).
In her spare time she enjoys watching movies, gardening, hiking, running and spending time with her family.
Q & A with Brittney:
Q: Did you have a mentor when you began your career in the cancer registry or did you learn on your own? What are the pros and cons for this type of learning?
A: I started out in a small one person registry that was going through many changes and I was fortunate enough to be mentored by members of the Registry Partners team. Since I was working towards obtaining my CTR credential my manager thought it was best to hire external mentors to provide the education I needed to be successful. I could go on and on about all of the benefits of having a mentor. I was given wonderful CTR mentors that helped me expand my knowledge and skills while also providing motivation and support. When you have someone available to provide answers to the many questions you have, first starting out, it makes all the difference in your success.
Q: What tips can you provide that may help a CTR improve their abstraction skills and become a more efficient abstractor?
A: I think the biggest thing is to stay up to date on your education. This profession is always changing and staying up to date with these changes is key to your success. The knowledge and use of abstracting manuals and references, utilizing resources such as CAnswer forum, SEER SINQ, and asking questions to your fellow CTRs will also help you become a more efficient abstractor. Staying organized is also important. I personally have a binder set up that is broken down by site. In each chapter I have notes listed with all of the key components for each site. I think this is especially helpful when you are first starting out as a CTR because it’s a good reference to go back to while abstracting.
Q: How did you become interested in the cancer registry profession?
A: I was employed as a ROI Specialist and my manager at the time had approached me about an opening in the cancer registry within our department. I decided to do a little more research on my end about the profession and what it all entailed to earn a CTR credential. After finding out more information about this profession I was intrigued and decided to apply for the position. It was one of the best decisions I ever made!