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What do you (did you) like best about your coding course? - What course was it?

Posted: Dec 27, 2011

What was the best thing about the coding course you took? Did it prepare you for the CCS and CPC exams or maybe just the CCA? Did you take any of those exams and did you pass or fail them? What course did you take? Did you think it was hard or easy?

You don't need to answer all of the questions, but maybe a couple of them. Thanks.

I think the best things about The Andrews School Coding Course - would be the instructors and the textbooks

[ In Reply To ..]
The instructors are the best. They teach you how to think through the coding process and come up with the right codes. They also teach you how to defend your code if it becomes necessary on the job. The textbooks are the highest quality. They are the same ones coders use at work, although many coders didn't have quality education and have trouble understanding these books even when you try to use them to help with a coding problem.

I can tell you about the worst thing about a coding course I took - Not Giving Course Name Though

[ In Reply To ..]
I took a coding course that was all computerized. There were no textbooks at all. No instructors to help either. They went the cheap route.

The worst thing about it was, it was all computerized. No, actually, the worst thing was the computerized text had errors and there wasn't anyone to talk to when you got stuck. So I knew I was not learning to code well enough to get a job. At first it's fun, but after you keep running into mistakes and don't know what the answer should have been, or why, it stops being fun.

What I liked least - computerized without textbook - No Course Name Given

[ In Reply To ..]
We probably took the same coding and billing course. After a year of studying from computerized modules, I personally did not feel confident enough to sit for the national coding tests. I decided to enroll in an AAPC-affiliated course with textbook and instructor, feel I learned a great deal more in half the time, and passed the CPC on my first attempt.

What did you like best? - Andrews Grad

[ In Reply To ..]
I liked the fact that I had access to an instructor when I had questions but didn't have to study according to anyones schedule but my own - as long as my work was done in the time frame I was given. I studied at home, in the car and in a plane. I even took a couple of my books with me on a cruise.

When I was taking an online degree program I was required to be online at certain times for webinars or "online live chat". It was really inconvenient.

Great Thread! More Please From Andrews And Other Schools Too - Want to hear about all of the schools

[ In Reply To ..]
I hope we get more replies on this thread. I would like to hear from more Andrews graduates. I'd also like to hear from graduates of some of the other schools too, especially naming the names of the schools if you can.

Thr school does not prepare you.... - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
You are responsible for learning the material and preparing yourself for the exams. Many people who never attend Andrews or any other formal coding program pass thode exams with OTJ training and independent study,

No, the school provides a structure for you to use to - Prepare Yourself

[ In Reply To ..]
You're correct that students are always responsible for learning the material and preparing for exams. However, if a school cannot tell you what to study or how to learn the material, and if it cannot communicate on-the-job and certification exam expectations, students won't do very well.

There are always people who can learn on their own, but they are few and far between.

Yes, there ARE lots of coders who pass those exams with OJT training and independent study. The point to be made is that SOMEONE who directs their OJT facilitates their studies. Without that, few would know what to do.

The one thing that nobody keeps track of is the percentage of OJT coders who pass certification exams. There are tons of OJT coders -- I see them every day -- but a lot of them never gain enough knowledge or confidence to test or pass.

Also consider that OJT coding jobs are becoming scarce. They are especially scarce in inpatient settings. They were great way back when there were few coders and no training programs. Now, though, employers are more and more unwilling to pay for all that learning time. Faced with a person who says "I want you to train me" and a person who says "I'm already trained and have 2 credentials to prove it," who do you think the employer will hire?

I'm not sure that dissing Andrews on this is fair or valid. They provide training, everything included, for $3800. You can say "you can learn it on your own," but most people cannot do that. Andrews provides a structure and the material you need to know.

If you do manage to get an OJT job, it isn't going to pay as well as a full coding job, so what's the point?

Sounds as though you have a chip on your shoulder, Anonymous. Not sure what your beef is, but most here see it.

Andrews vs AHIMA coding vs AAPC CPC - mttocoder

[ In Reply To ..]
I am taking the APPC course on coding. It's a four month program but is self paced so you could finish it faster. Then you test for the certificate. Unless Andrews has a modified program for MTs, you will be taking courses you already are familiar with, like terminology, anatomy and physiology. Why not get it done sooner to start your new career?

I can think of a couple of reasons - See message

[ In Reply To ..]
A 4-month program is not going to get you to the point where you can pass the CCS exam. The AAPC, I hope that's what you mean, because I've never heard of the APPC. It may be one of those newly-formed fake organizations that aren't recognized by anyone. Those exist. You're probably talking about AAPC though, which is fine if you want the CPC credentials. There are a few jobs for CPCs, but most want someone with a CCS or both. In no way would a 4-month program be capable of teaching enough to be taken seriously on the job.

Comparing apples to oranges - CCS CPC

[ In Reply To ..]
There is nothing wrong with the AAPC course or certifications. They just focus on outpatient or physician-services coding.

Inpatient coding is somewhat different. That kind of coding requires a more extensive knowledge of medicine and the medical record.
It also requires knowledge of ICD9 Vol. 3 procedure codes and the entire set of inpatient coding guidelines.

Very soon, inpatient coding will require ICD10 PCS procedure codes. The ability to use that code set effectively requires an extensive knowledge of anatomy and surgical or procedural technique. This is far beyond what is taught in AAPC courses. The AAPC is not even including that part if the ICD10 code set.

When people choose a coding course, they often think coding is coding and that the content of all courses is the same. They think that because one course takes 4 months and another 12, that the 12 month course must just waste time. They fail to recognize that the content can be quite different and that the 12 month course takes 12 months because it covers 3 times as much material.

Another big mistake MTs make is thinking that coding requires the same level of knowledge of medicine. They might know enough to squeak by in ICD9 for outpatient coding, but not for inpatient and definitely not for ICD10.

You WILL get done sooner, but you will be more limited in the jobs you could qualify for. You will not be able to pass the CS exam or qualify for inpatient coding jobs. Not that there is anything wrong with that, if that is what you want to do.

That makes a lot of sense - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
I was a little confused after reading what the OP wrote. You have cleared it up. Thanks!

What I liked least about college courses - in coding

[ In Reply To ..]
1. RHIA faculty who could not answer questions because they had never coded. That was what they said to explain why they had no answer.

2. Faculty who failed to appear even once during the semester, apparently never answering a single email from anyone.

3. Completely online courses utilizing course software that taught little but required incredible effort to work through. Answers would not be correct unless misspelled, or a digit omitted from a code, or one too many blank spaces inserted. Anatomic diagrams with incorrect labels or lines pointing to nothing at all or to blurry details. You had to memorize this for the exam, remembering where with the errors were. Timed tests that allowed so little time that it was physically impossible to click fast enough to complete the whole test. Total unconcern on the part of faculty, who suggested that I just needed to get used to online learning because this was typical.

4. Taking tests at 2 a.m., because you work days and if you waited until after work the college computer would be so overloaded you would not be able to access the test or stay connected. Having to take a day off workand drive to a college in a nearby city to take proctored tests, and having to pay $25 for each one.

5. Courses that were cancelled after starting, keeping you from taking a different course or enrolling in a different section. Having to drop courses twice because the school forgot to give you access and you missed the deadline on an assignment while they figured out what was wrong, and they couldn't do anything about it because there was no way to change the date due in the course software.

6. Being unable to buy books in time without having to pay for overnight shipping from the college bookstore, then havingthem sent by media mail. Being unable to buy them elsewhere because the bookstore would not reveal the names until the day classes started. Being sold one set of books only to have the instructor decide to use different ones a week later and being unable to return the first ones because they were no longer used at that college.

7. Courses taught with textbooks that were more suited to high school voc ed classes. Courses that required $150 textbooks that appeared to have little to do with the subject and which were never used. Courses that required printing screen after online screen because there was no other way to get a copy of the course materials, requiring reams of paper.

8. Courses that required attending online discussion groups at inconvenient times but the instructor never shows up. Courses that required participation in online discussion boards, discussing questions that appeared to be for a course in something else, as if they were left over from a previous semester, which other students say happens a lot and just make stuff up because the instructors don't read it anyway.

8. Everything graded by the computer. Sometimes wrongly, sometimes having no correct answer choice available, and there is nothing you can do about it.

9. Realizing that the focus of this education is not learning, that even if it was learning not enough was taught to enable you to pass a certification exam, and that after all that time and expense you have to teach yourself. Realizing that the faculty sees nothing amiss with this because their definition of education revolves around the activities of college, things like faculty meetings, and they use online software provided by the book publisher, which should be fine, although they admit they never looked at it. Or read the textbook. They are not really responsible for that. And you are the only student who complained. Ever.

This wasn't one college, either. It was two. Same thing at both.

Similar experince here. In my case they never knew I was there - Invisible

[ In Reply To ..]
I experienced many of the same things you did. The textbook was inadequate. The instructor was paid for doing nothing apparently. I wasted time and money and got absolutely 100% nothing from it.

What about finishing your prerequisites and then finding out the course was - Cancelled

[ In Reply To ..]
The course was cancelled. Now you have all the prerequisites that they required, but now they are pressuring you toward another of their programs that hasn't yet been canceled. Want to be a nurse? No, I enrolled in coding. What about a Medical Assistant? We have a great course in that and your prerequisites will count toward it.

How about a program that turns out to be - A year longer because

[ In Reply To ..]
They didn't include the prerequsites. A 9 month certificate program, but to get in it you have to take A&P and med terms first. A 2 year degree program, but only after completing a year's worth of prerequisites, and they won't accept anything more than 5 years old so your bachelor's doesn't count. There are prerequisites for the prerequsites. They feel this is so important that they won't accept them from any other college.

My favorite example ... course X requires 2 semesters of A&P. You cannot take them together and must take English and algebra first. You need college math prior to algebra. (They won't accept your calculus or 300 level English lit. because their courses do not go that high.) You do the math in the summer, so you can do English and algebra in the fall, so you can do A&P in the spring and summer, so you can take something else in the fall that is only offered in the fall. The second half of A&P is cancelled for the summer. You will now have to delay nearly everything one year until the next fall because you have to take that fall course first. You take what you can including the A&P in the spring and spin your wheels until the next fall, when you are informed that the A&P you took no longer qualifies as a prerequisite. You have to take 2 semesters of a different one.

And None of That Even Begins To Teach You To Code - Adding To Your Story

[ In Reply To ..]
All of that is just stuff you have to do because somebody added it because they felt like it. None of it teaches you to code. None of it helps you. It just makes their statistics look better.

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