Student Profile: Tiya Mitchell, PMP, CPHIMS, PCHM CCE

I'm a Health IT Project Manager and have been working in the Healthcare IT field for over 20 years. The majority of my experience is in medical software and consulting. In those roles, I have worked in Implementations/Project Management, Training and Consulting. I have been performing the project management functions for years and managed several departments, including a Consulting department and a Training department. Project Management was very important is getting the departments initiated and running.

I got my first certification, the PMI CAPM, in 2006, then eventually followed it up with the Patient Centered Medical Home (NCQA PCMH CCE) in 2013 and the Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (CPHIMS) in 2014. I took and passed the PMP exam this year. All of the certifications have been helpful in doing the job that I had and striving for the next one.

I think it's vitally important to read the official PMP handbook and the PMBOK - multiple times! The more you read over it, new information seems to appear. I would also spend some time in the glossary and definitions section in the back. It will help really understand the nuances between some of the terms. I stuck to one knowledge area at a time and really concentrated on it. If I read something and it didn't sink in, I would read it again and again until I knew I had it. I also made my own cheat sheets with areas that I could tell were super important or that I had trouble with. As I took the practice tests on the PM PrepCast (I would do some mini-tests by knowledge area), I would add anything new to the cheat sheets. I then referred to my cheat sheets whenever I could.

So what would I do in the last week before taking the exam? I would make sure that as you prepare for the exam, make sure you can regurgitate the Knowledge Areas/Process Group matrix, have taken MANY practice exams and are rested. I would make sure that you are comfortable with sitting for 4 hours and concentrating. It can be easy to let your mind wander. I also wouldn't cram and stay up late the night before. Getting a good nights sleep before the test is important. I think it's important to know what you know and accept where you struggle. When memorizing the formulas, there were about half that I could really memorize. I didn't worry about the others, instead, I focused on what I was confident in so that I could keep moving during the exam. My last suggestion would be to understand what they are asking in the question. Many times, there's extra information that isn't pertinent, but the key is knowing what is.

Tiya Mitchell, PMP, CPHIMS, PCHM CCE