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Andrews VS Career Step - curious

Posted: Jan 26, 2011

Hi everyone,

I have been looking at both Andrews and Career Steps programs for coding. I am leaning more towards Andrews, but I am worried about the amount of writing assignments you have to do. Are these long assignments? What type of stuff do you have to write about for a coding course (without giving away too much info)?

Career Step is completely online, and for some reason that just does not seem like the best way to go. I feel that you really do need hands on kind of work, and I don't think that you'll get that by reading everything online.

The only other problem I have is accessing Andrews website. For some reason my UM175 modem through Verizon will not let me see their website. I know it has to be that because I can use my brother's US Cellular UM175 USB modem in my computer and access the website just fine. It has to be something with Verizon.

Anyways, any thoughts on both courses would be great. I know that people from Andrews get jobs for transcription, but what about for coding? How many people actually find jobs after graduation from Career Steps coding program?

FYI - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm a Career Step coding student. I haven't landed my first job yet but have already had one interview. I am optimistic about finding employment, but it's a tough job market for every profession. Even though the program is on line and there are no written assignments per se, you will have plenty of "hands on." By the time you finish, you will have worn out your coding books and will have had some practice with electronic coding and billing software too. There's a lot more to a coding course than just coding. I'm only guessing, but written assignments could be related to anatomy, medical ethics/HIPAA or a number of other subjects in regard to health care documentation. People from Andrews find jobs. People from Career Step find jobs too if they get out there are look.

Career Step - me

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you for answering. I am curious though, you said that you will wear out your coding books. From what I saw you only get books if you pay extra. So, for those who don't pay the extra, is it really possible to learn this completely online? Did I read it wrong? Do you get books with this course and only have to pay extra for certain books? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Books - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
Current versions of ICD-9/10, CPT and HCPCS code books are included in the cost of the Career Step program. You will wear out your coding books because you will be studying the guidelines and using the books when you code the lessons offered in the course, it is all about research and looking things up. There are other books that you can purchase from Career Step but they are optional, the majority of the course material is on-line, it depends on how much time you want to spend at your computer. I purchased an anatomy and physiology textbook and an additional CPT textbook separately for independent study, but it was my choice to do that.

What about pathophysiology, etc.? - Wondering

[ In Reply To ..]
You mentioned anatomy and physiology. What book do they use? A regular textbook or something they wrote?

Did you just feel you didn't need the pathophysiology book, or do they stop with A&P?

Anatomy and physiology - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
The A & P is something they wrote and it is entirely on-line, I don't know if they have a book. It seemed pretty basic to me and I wanted to do more so I ordered the book that AHIMA uses in their program.

Career Step - lattefactor

[ In Reply To ..]
I am probably a little over halfway through the CS program. Another question you want to ask yourself, OP, is where are you coming from? How much medical background and familiarity do you have? For example, I used to work in allied health and have quite an extensive A/P background already and worked in health care and then for the last 10 years I have been doing MT from home, so I really, really know my way around a medical record and am very familiar with most medical terminology, etc. So, already I felt I was ahead of the game with regard to that and that plays into your decision too. Yes, you are totally online with CS and sometimes that is good, sometimes not so good. I have often thought how lost I would feel coming into it with not as much of a medical background without an instructor. However, the CS people have been very helpful and pretty prompt when I have had questions. The program I am in is through a technical school here in town and they will help you find employment when all is said and done, but I'm not even ready to start looking yet until I get a little further down the road. There are lots of exercises and you really go through the books that you get; however, I am going to purchase extra study books from AAPC and Carol Buck just to ensure I am completely prepared for the CPC exam. Right now, I'm in E/M and I think they are explaining it quite thoroughly with a great worksheet to go through so you know what you're doing.

Whatever you decide, best of luck to you!

To lattefactor re E/M - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
It's great to finally meet another CS student on the message boards. I'm almost finished with my program. I really struggled with the E/M section, the 1995 and 1997 guidelines threw me. I found errors on the worksheets but hopefully that's been corrected by now, I liked using the electronic worksheets that came later. I'm also planning to use additional books to prepare for the CPC exam. I did Career Step through them at home, I think I would have liked a classroom/instructor interaction better but thought it was a pretty comprehensive program.

hello anonymous CS student - lattefactor

[ In Reply To ..]
Hello! Good for you for almost being done! I am getting there s-l-o-w-l-y. IDK how other people with children and a FT job get things like this done - and I know they do - but I am having a hard time getting it all in.

Anyway, nice to "meet you!" Yes, there were some errors on the sheets but they have corrected some of them and are working to correct any others. I have had a lot of help from a particular gal, especially with this E/M section and she has been wonderful. I think any time you can have an instructor, that might be superior to a more self-study type program such as CS, but this is pretty comprehensive, I agree, and if you have a leg up in the medical field already, this is a good way to go. Good luck to you!! Let me know how you do!

Andrews - Raine59

[ In Reply To ..]
Andrews doesn't really have a lot of writing assignments per se. Rarely would you have to write more than a few sentences or a short paragraph to answer a particular question. I just finished their program in December and am preparing for the CPC and maybe the CCS.

More questions - me

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for answering the question for me. Good luck to you on your tests!!!! How long did it take you to finish their program? I have heard that you need to be on a set schedule in order to take their class. Is this correct or can I choose my own schedule? I ask because my life is crazy, and I never know from one minute to the next what will come up throughout the day. So, can I log in and do my work when I have time or do I have to log in at a set time every day? Do you get all the books that you need with your course or do you have to pay extra to get hard copies? Thank you for all of your help. I really am leaning more towards Andrews, but I cannot figure out why Verizon will not let me see their website. I think at this point that is the only thing stopping me from signing up. Bummer!!!

Info on Andrews - Raine59

[ In Reply To ..]
It took me exactly 12 months but the last 4 I wasn't working so I spent more time on it. The first 8 months I probably spent about 15 hours a week, the last 4 months was probably about 25 hours a week. All the books come with the course fee. I think there are about 18-20. There is no set schedule. They suggest you finish one lesson a week but they are not really strict about it as long as you are making progress. You can work on it whatever hours you want. They do have you make a study schedule each week with what you plan to accomplish each day but I don't think anyone checks to make sure you do exactly what you say you will do each day, as long as you are progressing. You don't actually log in (except to check the message boards once a week or so). You just do the assignments out of the book and email your answers. You didn't say if you are already an MT. If so, it should be easier for you than if you are not. I would think someone who has no medical background would need to spend probably 25-50% more time on the course. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Verizon works fine for the instructional board access - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
The instructional message boards and work areas are separate from the regular web site. They work fine using Verizon. You don't need to access the official public website at any time during the course, but I'll report the problem so they can look into it.

verizon - me

[ In Reply To ..]
For some reason verizon will not let me access their official website, so I am concerned that I will not be able to access any of the other sites as well. Thank you for your help, and I appreciate you reporting the problem.

Update on the Verizon situation - Linda Andrews

[ In Reply To ..]
We called tech support for Verizon and they said there was no problem when they tested. They said to remind people that there are 2 S's in andrewsschool

However, I doubt that was the reason it didn't work for you. You might try it again. We have a number of students and graduates who access our message boards using Verizon. The instructional part of the course is on a different IP address completely.

Let me know what the error message was. If you prefer, write to me at linda@andrewsschool.com because that will be faster.

Latest update for the Verizon problem - Linda Andrews

[ In Reply To ..]
We just talked with them again. They said that if you have a web site that appears to be blocked in your area, call 1-800-922-0204 between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. and Verizon will take care of it. I hope that helps.

Thanks for making me aware of the problem.

A thought . . . - Redpen

[ In Reply To ..]
Just wondering if you might have any kind of website blocking arrangement through your Verizon carrier? Something that might prevent certain websites from coming through?

For instance, I could have this through my ISP to protect my kids. It would block websites that were naughty or which contained adult words. They sometimes think medical words are inappropriate.

It might be something you aren't aware you turned on. Or, it might be something Verizon just thinks is a good idea based on some kind of criteria (like blocking websites with medical words).

Verizon - Future coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't understand why you are having such a problem with Verizon. What is exactly going on? I have used Verizon with DSL years ago and now I have the Mobile Broadband, which is just fantastic -- never had a problem, never has blocked anything. ???

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