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

Is it necessary to go in debt with student loans to adequately learn coding? - I wonder

Posted: May 19, 2010

I know that all schools are not created equal, but What I really want to know is how these three schools really rank in the eyes of an experienced coder or someone who has been involved in any of these programs

Career Step

A college or university with credits and an AA degree

AHIMA

Do you think Career step is equal to AHIMA as far as learning?

Opinions - Coding Student

[ In Reply To ..]
The problem is that you could ask 20 different people their opinion and get 20 different answers. There are people out there who LOVE Career Step and highly recommend it. There are also people out there who looked at Career Step and found it to be lacking what they personally wanted in a coding course. Different styles of training fit different people. What works best for me may not be a good fit for you at all.

Personally, if I had to choose from the options you list, I would go with AHIMA. But that is because I don't care for Career Step. But you might love Career Step!

Choosing the right educational path is hard. Probably the best thing you could do is to do some research and write down what you find out. If it is written down, it will be easier for you to remember all of the details and compare your choices.

Just off the top of my head, here are just some of the things you might want to find out about the schools you are considering.

- TOTAL cost. That means you need to know the cost of tuition as well as textbooks and reference materials (if not included in tuition).
- Time requirements. Do they specify how long you can take to complete the course? What are their extension policies?
- Type of instruction. Will you have an actual instructor? Is the course online only? Do they use textbooks? Can you get a list of the books and references included in the course? How will you communicate with your instructor if you have questions?
- Is there any job placement assistance?
- What percentage of their graduates go on to pass certification exams.

Hope this helps! :)

Opinions - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
Great post - I didn't ask the question but you provided some good information, thanks :-)

and I appreciate very much your opinion! - me

[ In Reply To ..]
I feel the plus with the university is the degree in Health information technology, which means if there are no jobs for me coding, I am not limited to JUST coding. I will have an AA degree which is something I have always wanted to accomplish in my "old" age.
The program also has an internship where they place me for 2 months, 1 month in a hospital and 1 month in a physicians office or insurance office.

The university is also CAHIM and AHIMA approved and accredited.

I guess the positives of the AA degree is that it will not limit me to just coding, but it sure will also pep up my resume having attending a CAHIM approved school that is accredited, not to mention the internship and on the job experience.

With the AHIMA or Career Step, I will be only able to look for a "coding job" and that may be hard without any experience, and these two organizations also do not really help place you nor do they do internships.

What you might not know - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Is that the only jobs in HIM that require any education are the coding jobs. The rest, at entry-level, which is where you will be after your AA program, are often filled by people who have no education at all. The rest of the non-coding jobs are filled by people who did an entry job for a few years and then advanced. You can go get one of those jobs now and save all that tuition. Be sure to check the salaries for those jobs, too. It's the CODING jobs that pay best.

Interview some graduates about their internship experience. Most aren't what they sound like. A lot of times, they're just sitting around reading procedure manuals and observing, and they don't help you get jobs.

Most HIM graduates never work in the field.

Opinions - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
A month-long internship does not seem very long to me. If the employer does not have a true internship program in place they won't know what to do with you and you will, as was mentioned, not be doing very much. A hospital might be able to place you in a coding slot but a doctor's office or insurance company could have you doing any number of clerical tasks. What is CAHIM? I am not familiar with that organization. AHIMA has approved programs in certain schools but to my knowledge there are no AHIMA accredited schools. Accreditation usually means licensing in the state where the college is located and does not pertain to a particular program. I was looking for coding specific training and want to obtain certification, that is why I chose a coding-only program. I also have some hospital coding background so it is not entirely new to me. Regardless of how you choose to obtain your education, if you want to work as a coder, eventually you will want to sit for an exam. Everyone's goals are different. Only you can decide what is best for you.

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