How to hire a tumor registrar

How to hire a tumor registrar, step by step

Here's a step-by-step tumor registrar hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a tumor registrar job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new tumor registrar
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The tumor registrar hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect tumor registrar also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of tumor registrar salaries for various roles:

   Type of Tumor Registrar	Description	Hourly rate
   Tumor Registrar	Medical records and health information technicians, commonly referred to as health information technicians, organize and manage health information data. They ensure its quality, accuracy, accessibility, and security in both paper and electronic systems... Show more	$19-38
   Medical Coder	A medical coder's role is to interpret and analyze a patient's medical record and translate particular details according to the universal medical alphanumeric code. Moreover, a medical coder is primarily responsible for ensuring that the translations are accurate, as this will play a vital factor in processing insurance and receiving treatments... Show more	$17-33
   Medical Service Technician	A medical service technician provides health care and treatments to patients under the supervision or directives of a more experienced physician. Most of their responsibilities revolve around assessing a patient's condition, administering required aid, diagnosing patients, conducting check-ups, and counseling patients... Show more	$11-29

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Abstracts
   • Medical Terminology
   • Registrars
   • COC
   • Seer
   • ICD-9
   • Data Collection
   • AJCC
   • ACOS
   • TNM
   • Data Entry
   • Statistical Reports
   • Pathology Reports

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPPA and clinic.
   • Participate in the cancer program survey by ACoS COC.
   • Utilize ICD-9-CM, CPT and HCPCS coding systems, and HCC coding.
   • Train new and inexperience coders on (ICD-9-CM), (CPT) and (HCPCS) code identification.
   • Experience in CoC accreditation surveys.
   • Staff onboard training of EHR system.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your tumor registrar job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A tumor registrar salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, tumor registrars' average salary in south carolina is 40% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level tumor registrars earn 51% less than senior-level tumor registrars.
   • Certifications. A tumor registrar with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a tumor registrar's salary.

   Average tumor registrar salary

   $57,112yearly

   $27.46 hourly rate

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   Entry-level tumor registrar salary

   $40,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

4. Writing a tumor registrar job description

   A good tumor registrar job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a tumor registrar job description:

   Tumor registrar job description example

   8282 - Hybrid Remote/Office (3 days/week in office) - HOPEWELL
   
   Responsibilities
   
   * Maintains patient and employee confidentiality and security of stored patient data at all times.
   * Performs case-finding throughout Capital Health using appropriate standard setter criteria.
   * Assigns accurately the stage of disease and clinical codes utilizing guidelines from Seer Summary staging guide, AJCC, ICD-O and WHO with higher than 90 percent accuracy.
   * Generates timely and appropriate follow-up as needed.
   * Contacts physicians, clinics, other hospitals and cancer registries for additional treatment and/or staging information to complete each abstract.
   * Generates accurate data and graphs as assigned or requested, in a timely manner depending on the complexity of the report.
   * Transmits data to specific agencies as assigned.
   * Recommends measures to correct any deficiencies.
   * Supports all aspects of meetings efficiently including but not limited to: agenda, content, room set-up, A/V equipment management, etc. as needed or assigned.
   * Participates in activities related to cancer program development as needed. Adapts easily to changing department demands. Participates in and completes all job duties timely and accurately.
   * Documents all data requests and/or Q/A activity in the yearly Data Request / Q/A Log.
   
   Requirements
   
   * Associates Degree. Tumor Registrar Certification or CTR eligible. Must attain certification within two years upon hire.
   * One year abstracting experience in a hospital cancer registry preferred.
   * Hybrid Remote/Office (3 days per week in office).
   * Knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Demonstrates good organizational skills.
   * Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, Power Point and Word). Proficient in METRIQ cancer registry software system preferred. RHIA/RHIT is helpful but not necessary.
   * Frequent physical demands include:
   * Occasional physical demands include: Sitting , Standing , Walking , Climbing (e.g., stairs or ladders) , Carry objects , Push/Pull , Twisting , Bending , Reaching forward , Reaching overhead , Squat/kneel/crawl , Wrist position deviation , Pinching/fine motor activities
   * Continuous physical demands include: Keyboard use/repetitive motion
   * Lifting Floor to Waist 25 lbs. Lifting Waist Level and Above 25 lbs.
   
   Our Network
   
   Effective September 7, all employees and medical staff at all Capital Health locations will be required to be vaccinated or subject to weekly testing, as required by the Governor of New Jersey's recent Executive Order 252.
   
   Capital Health will never ask candidates for social security numbers or date of birth during the application phase. If you are asked for this information online, you may be a target for identity theft.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right tumor registrar for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with tumor registrars they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit tumor registrars who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your tumor registrar job on Zippia to find and recruit tumor registrar candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting tumor registrars requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new tumor registrar

   Once you've decided on a perfect tumor registrar candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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