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To working coders: Can you describe how - you got your foot in the door....

Posted: Apr 26, 2015

after graduating? I know passing the CCS is the first thing to do, but after that how difficult was it to get hired? All the job postings I have seen want 3-5 years' experience?

I know it's an age-old question, but how do you get that experience?

I'm just in the beginning stages of considering starting school for coding. I am willing to work hard, but I don't want to put forth the effort/money if it is next to impossible to get an entry level job. You all MUST have been new at one point, so can you explain how you did it? Thanks so much in advance! :)

Foot in the door - Just do it

[ In Reply To ..]
If you have a CCS you will not have any trouble getting a job, that certification is the gold standard and considered master level coding, it is not an entry level certification. My suggestion would be to get the "entry level" job first working in health information or billing while you are studying to get your foot in the door and then start applying for coding jobs. Find a mentor. Attend AAPC chapter meetings and network. Who can say how people find jobs; sometimes it is being in the right place at the right time. Approach your first coding job search the way you would approach any other job search. If you are qualified and do well in the interview and testing you will get hired.

One way to never get your foot in the door - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
One way to never get your foot in the door is to assume that you can't. So then you try to sneak up on it by dipping your toe in the water, to keep the analogy going, by taking a short course to see if you like it. Typically people who do it that way initially love the course and brag about it everywhere they go, until they finish and find out employers didn't think it was so great. They can't code from a book, can't pass a credentials exam, and can't pass an employment test. That is the way to guarantee failure.

Try to see if you can get any job in a hospital - sm - MT2coder

[ In Reply To ..]
A young gal I know got her RHIT and she was smart enough to take an entry level position in the scanning department of a hospital. Within 8 months, they pulled her into the coding department because they knew she had her credentials. Within her 3 years, she has worked her way up to the next person to management. She is smart as a whip, I might add, and young so she is like a sponge.

I had been an IC in MT and decided to get my CPC. I purposely went back to work in a hospital in the MT department after obtaining my CPC and just waited. A position opened up in coding and they asked me to take it as they knew I had my CPC.

Right opportunities, right place at the right time but don't be afraid to take an entry level job, even while learning coding and getting your foot in the door. The hospital will usually take an in-house employee over an outside candidate, if they are already a good employee. It can be done!

It's very rare to learn much medical coding in an RHIT program - As we have discussed before

[ In Reply To ..]
I would call that an accidental exception. If you get an actual coding job as an RHIT, you have to get it almost by accident. There are very few RHIT programs that include much medical coding.

There are better ways to become a medical coder than the RHIT. The CCS, for example, is a pure medical coding path. That's a better way to go if you actually want to work as a medical coder. You don't find many RHITs who are able to pass the CCS exam. There's a reason for that. Most of them can't code.

how many coding courses and length of program - curious

[ In Reply To ..]
for the coding course you are referring to or maybe the one you took? The local college has an HIM program with 4 semesters of coding and eligibility to sit for the RHIT and or the CCS.

May be fine. It depends on how many are successful at the CCS - Results on the CCS?

[ In Reply To ..]
That program may be fine. Find out if there are graduates who are passing the CCS. I wouldn't worry about the RHIT because I haven't heard of anyone not passing it, but if they are consistently passing the CCS, that's good. Usually 4 semesters of coding means lots of other things with a little coding sprinkled in, but the CCS results tell the whole story. Best of luck with it.

Four semesters of coding - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
The question is just what does four semesters mean. Some people here will think "Wow! Four WHOLE semesters!" This is an RHIT program, though, so I know that it is not the entire content of 4 semesters. It is 4 CLASSES out of about 32 (4 semesters).

The focus of an RHIT program is not Coding. It is to give the student an entry-level smattering of everything in RHIT-land. That includes all the school or state-required general courses like English, math, social science, history, philosophy, foreign language, science, personal health, speech, computer arts, study skills, art, job skills, keyboarding, and all sorts of other things, plus the requirements for the RHIT, like Intro to Health Info Technology I and II, EHRs, Office Management, Intro to Healthcare Law, Health Statistics and Data Management, Medical Terminology, A&P, Pathophysiology, Pharmacology and Lab, Healthcare Reimbursement, a course for visiting local hospitals, RHIT Exam Review, some more stuff, a course where you practice what you learned in an online lab, and ... drumroll ... four courses in coding ... ICD-10 Coding I and II (first and second halves of the textbook) and CPT Coding I and II (first and second halves of the textbook).

The failure rate on the RHIT exam varies wildly. Many students never take it. Actually, a lot of community college grads NEVER work in the field they studied, so this is not surprising. Of those who even attempt it, many fail.

Saying you CAN sit for the CCS is very different from saying you have a reasonable expectation of passing it. The majority of RHIT programs only teach to the CCA. There are some rarities. A couple of schools do ok on this, but I doubt if they are teaching only 4 measley semesters of coding.

There are also a lot of experienced coders who complete RHIT programs and ARE ABLE TO PASS THE CCS afterward BECAUSE THEY ARE ALREADY CODERS. They also do better than your average bear on the RHIT. The schools don't happen to mention these interesting details. They may not know the students are already coders, or they are just thrilled that they have a student who succeeds and not care to ask how.

yes, 4 semester length coding classes.... - curious

[ In Reply To ..]
The program is as you suggested, a 2 year associates degree with emphasis on all areas of HIM. There are 4 semester long coding classes. The first class is ICD9 and ICD10, second is CPT/HCPCS , third is advanced coding and fourth is basically coding of deidentified "practice" charts from a local hospital. Students in the program are able to sit for and pass CCA (most do actually sit for this exam and begin their coding careers while pursuing their associates). During our final semester we are eligible to sit for the CCS, RHIT or both. We are all encouraged to sit for the RHIT.

That is better than most - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
You at least get time to practice coding charts, so that isn't too bad. It is not, however, as good as a program that will get you to the CCS. The CCA is just barely skimming the surface.

I see no point in spending all that time and money on a college program that barely qualifies me for a job being trained to do what I could have learned at a higher level from a school like Andrews.

You spend more time on it, you spend more money on it, then you can only get a trainee job where you don't make full pay. You could take a better course to begin with, spend less time, spend less money, get the full mastery-level credential, then get a regular job at better pay.

Agree...just do it - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I agree with "Just do it". That is how you get any job...you just be well-prepared in terms of the job and job-finding skills, and apply.

If you have superior skills and credentials in coding, you will get a job. Be prepared to take even job you might not really want to get some experience, but keep applying.

Don't wait until graduation to suddenly start looking. You do not need to finish to get a job--I was not finished or credentialed. You can get trainee jobs, or jobs in medical records, or other jobs near coding. Those can serve as valuable experience and give employers a chance to know you.

You said something that I find a little strange: "don't want to put forth the effort/money if it is next to impossible to get an entry level job."

What on earth have you been looking at to come up with the idea that it could be "next to impossible to get an entry level job"? That is illogical... how could anyone be working if no one can get a job?

You need to look at the AAPC salary survey. (Google it or search their website, or look below for one of the many links posted here.) The unemployment rate for CPC-A's was about 10% on the last survey. That was not a permanent condition, but just reflects that 1 in 10 take longer. And that is with just one AAPC credential in outpatient coding.

That is actually pretty good. It is far better than nursing, where the job market is so bad that 40% of new RNs are unemployed a year later (with 40,000 or more in student debt). Better than the unemployment rate for new lawyers, who graduate with even higher debt. It is better than many jobs, especially in the economy today.

Don't let fear of change get in the way of your career potential - My Recommendation

[ In Reply To ..]
My recommendation to anyone who is considering medical coding is, jump in and do it, but do it right. Otherwise don't do it at all. Don't let your fear of success, which some people have or your fear of change keep you from accomplishing your goal of a good, solid career in medical coding.

If you know this is what you want to do, focus on all the ways you can make it happen: good training, the right credentials, preparation to present yourself in a good light to employers, which means having those CPC and CCS credentials. You can work on interview skills and resume preparation later. Get the training and get started.

Thanks all for the advice; it is much appreciated! - n/m

[ In Reply To ..]
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