NCRA Conference Preview

NCRA Stands United in Education, Advocacy, and Professional Development
By Heather Hogstrom

The National Cancer Registrars Association’s (NCRA) 38th Annual Educational Conference will be held April 18 to 21 at the Gaylord National in Washington, DC. There will be plenty to explore, from national historical monuments to the NCRA exhibit hall, where cancer registrars can learn about the latest cancer registry products and services and network with vendors and colleagues.

More than 30 educational sessions are scheduled, so cancer registrars can keep up-to-date with changes in the industry and earn up to 20 continuing education (CE) credits. Sessions cover central registry, hospital registry, professional development, and informatics, providing a range of choices to meet individual educational needs.

Additional workshop and events offered at the conference include the following:

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Advanced Topics for Registry Professionals Workshop
Tuesday, April 17 and Wednesday, April 18, 8 am to 5 pm
This workshop reviews the revised Multiple Primary and Histology (MPH) Coding Rules and the updated Hematopoietic Database and Manual. It includes didactic database presentations and handout materials, and attendees can ask questions and interact with the SEER MPH and Hematopoietic subject matter experts.

Central Cancer Registry: Design, Management & Use Workshop
Tuesday, April 17, 1 PM to 5 PM and Wednesday, April 18, 8 am to 5 pm
This workshop summarizes all functions and processes of the central registry and is intended for new or current cancer registry staff and data users. Topics addressed include types/characteristics of registries, budgeting and staffing, case ascertainment and reporting, data sets, using central cancer registry data for cancer research and control, measuring and monitoring data quality, recruitment, training and retention, record linkage, death clearance, follow-up, computer resources needed, ethics and confidentiality, data editing, calculation and assessment of incidence rates, and calculation and assessment of survival rates.

Walk on the Hill: A Day of Advocacy
Thursday, April 19
Take advantage of being in our nation’s capital and meet with your member of the House of Representatives to help advance the cancer registry profession. The NCRA will provide training about the best approaches to use when meeting your representative, materials for you to share with your representative, and transportation to and from Capitol Hill. Sign up in advance for this free event.

Fundamentals of Abstracting Workshop
Thursday, April 19; Friday, April 20; and Saturday, April 21, 7:30 am to 5 pm
This workshop runs parallel to the NCRA conference sessions and is intended for cancer registry employees with six months to two years of experience who have knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and medical terminology and are familiar with the SEER Self-Instructional Manuals for Tumor Registrars. It focuses on quality abstracting and data reporting practices and emphasizes the proper use of coding and reference manuals and techniques to promote quality cancer data. It provides an in-depth discussion of the coding rules and reporting requirements with hands-on training exercises and individualized instruction.

For those who miss out on sessions or want to review what they’ve learned, the NCRA is also offering the conference presentations on DVD. Viewers can even earn CEs by completing the form included.

— Heather Hogstrom is an editorial assistant at For The Record.