Note from the ACDIS Editor: Resources for career ladder development

By Linnea Archibald

We recently got a question in our ACDIS Inquiries mailbox seeking resources for career ladder development. According to the 2018 CDI Salary Survey, the most popular career ladder model was a step/level increase system based on staff members’ longevity, education, and experience levels. There are also a number of other models that include further job title diversification, such as CDI lead, manager, director, educator, etc.

Putting a career ladder of some type in place keeps CDI professionals from feeling stagnant, like they have nowhere else to grow in their current roles. Additionally, if done well, such ladders allow managers to identify an individual CDI specialist’s strengths and areas of expertise allowing that person to specialize beyond typical CDI work.

Those looking to implement a career ladder of their own have a number of resources at their disposal from ACDIS. Here are a few you may find helpful:

• “Keep staff growing and engaged with a CDI career ladder,” (white paper, 2016)
• “Where do I go from here? Establishing career paths for CDI,” by Frances Frank, RN, MBA, MSN, HCM, CPHQ, and Michelle McCormack, RN, BSN, CCDS, CRCR (conference presentation, 2016); plus listen to this episode of ACDIS Radio with Frank and McCormack
• “How to engage and motivate your CDI staff” by Mark Dominesey, RN, BSN, MBA, CCDS, CDIP, CHTS-CP (conference presentation, 2018)
• A 2017 CDI Week Q&A with Laurie Morelle, RN, MS, CCDS, on the topic of career advancement
• The 2018 CDI Salary Survey

Should you have questions, the conference materials include the contact information of the presenters on the last slide, and the CDI Week Q&A includes the interviewee’s email address. Any of these folks would be helpful to you and having reviewed their materials will give you a good jumping off point for asking questions.

Alternatively, if you run into any questions, feel free to reach out to me, or anyone at ACDIS, as well. We’re happy to help you find some answers.

Editor’s note: Archibald is the editor at ACDIS. Contact her at larchibald@acdis.org.