A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Bus driver said she graduated from medical billing/coding school - Squarepeg

Posted: Sep 25, 2012

and the reason she's driving a bus is because she hasn't been able to find a job as a coder since graduation. I asked her if she took her certification exam yet, and she said no. I didn't say anything but maybe this is the reason why she hasn't gotten hired yet.

Absence of a certification = Big Issue - I agree!

[ In Reply To ..]
Not having a certification is #1.

Even more than that is the REASON she does not have it. In all likelihood, her school didn't emphasize it. She doesn't even know it's necessary. That says something about the training, and it isn't particularly good. They might not bother encouraging students to test because they know they can't pass.

Maybe - see message - Passing through

[ In Reply To ..]
After spending money on school she didn't have the $300+ for the exam fees and dues in AAPC or AHIMA, if she was unemployed at the time that could have been the case. Also, having certification does not guarantee that a person will find a job, it's tough without actual work experience. It's not nice to judge others without knowing all of their circumstances.

Nobody was judging anyone - squarepeg

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

You dont know her circumstances either, you are guessing. But no - judging of anyone here. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
s

That would be really poor planning if that's the case - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Anyone getting into medical coding should be aware at the beginning that it's going to take passing a credentials exam to demonstrate to employers that you can do the job. That's the way it works in coding. No, it doesn't work that way in medical transcription, but it does in medical coding. BIG difference. We all know that.

You know from the start that you're going to have to take that CPC test and the CCS exam too. Too many people don't plan ahead. They go for training that is short, fast, cheap, and at the end, they have nothing to show for the time, effort, and money they did spend. They have to start all over or just consider coding a bad idea and go on to doing something else. Nobody wants to take a second course after they've already taken one. You would have to study what you already studied once. So most people just choose to mark it up as a mistake and go on. They don't realize that if they had done it right the first time, they would have made an investment in their future.

How did MT get brought into this? - Passing through

[ In Reply To ..]
The discussion was about a woman who became a bus driver because she was not able to find a coding joh.

Passing Through - SM

[ In Reply To ..]
No one said the woman BECAME a bus driver because she could not find a job as a coder. The OP said she WAS a bus driver who could not get a job in coding.

How did MT "get brought into this"? I did not write that post, but this is my understanding of it. It got brought in because we often have to explain the credentialing issue from an MT perspective, since many MTs do not understand that certification in coding is nothing like certification in MT.

Here is what happened. "I agree" made an accurate statement about credentials in coding. In fact, that is a good assessment of the situation. Nobody judged the bus driver. You then attacked "I agree," accusing her of judging the bus driver. Your statements about the problems you felt could explain why the bus driver had been unable to get credentialed are the arguments MTs often make about credentials. In other words, if a credential was optional and not very meaningful, cost would be a good reason not to get it.

The "poor planning" response to your post simply saw the MT-type response and sought to explain it from that perspective to help you understand.

So, MT got brought in because you appear to be an MT and because you argued from an MT perspective.

MTs often come into coding feeling that credentials are optional and too costly. They often feel that it is unfair of employers to expect coders to be credentialed. They often feel that everyone deserves a chance, regardless of credentials. They often express a view that one credential should be enough.

In coding, however, credentials are required, not optional. It isn't that emplyers want them, but that they must have them because it is a necessary part of their compliance program. Employers have to be able to show that they did everything possible to assure that their coding and billing was done correctly. When the expectation is that you will hire credentialed coders, you hire credentialed coders. In coding, credentials are minimum preparation for a job. The chance to prove yourself is given after you have credentials, not before. Why? Because credentials are the accepted minimum job preparation, and also because many noncredentialed coders have failed exams already, sometimes several times. If a coder cannot pass an exam, that coder is not going to work accurately, either. You need only to look up the size of the fines Medicare applies and the other repercussions for fraudulent and abusive billing to understand why no employer can afford to hire a noncredentialed coder.

There is also a very good chance that a noncredentialed coder will never be able to pass. This is a known phenomenon. Employers cannot risk hiring one. They just have to hire credentialed coders.

Reputable coding programs do make this clear to students. Students should not graduate thinking they should apply for jobs before credentials. You get your credentials first.

Certification does not guarantee getting a job - On the other hand

[ In Reply To ..]
Not being certified pretty much guarantees that you won't.

Certification in coding is much different than in MT. In coding, you really must be certified. Employers almost all require it. Reputable schools make this clear to students.

The cost is a job-related expense. Membership in AHIMA is not required. Membership in the AAPC is required but, again, that is part of joining the profession.

You are right that we do not know her circumstances, but employers do not know, either. I can tell you that they will assume an uncredentialed coder is unable to pass the exams or unwilling to try.

I just read that it is now REQUIRED for coders in Texas to be certified. I expect that to spread.

Is this a school bus driver? - (see message)

[ In Reply To ..]
The reason I ask is that the school bus company in my area advertises in the newspaper, and their starting pay is $12/hr....well above what I was able to make as an MT after we went to VR. My husband has a business contact whose wife drives a school bus for a small suburban district, and she makes $15 an hour. I know you're talking about coding; but as a long-time MT who doesn't have an interest in going back to school at this point, I'd consider driving a school bus if I could stand the early-morning hours, the split shift, and loud children! :-D

She's a driver for a paratransit transporation company - squarepeg

[ In Reply To ..]
She picks up people and takes them places, it's a door to door service here in the DC area.

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