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


Coding Classes - tons of schools - MT


Posted: May 10, 2010

I have looked at tons of schools and read tons of info.  I am down to AAPC or Career step.  Which one is better?  And have you taken either at career step or AAPC

coding - kb

[ In Reply To ..]
I am taking it at my local junior college. Are these other ones you talk about better?

Don't know AAPC - Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
but a coworker is enrolled in the CS coding course after taking their transcription course, which I also took some years ago. She says the course is full of errors and has no explanations for answer keys, making the info very hard to learn.

The CS transcription course wasn't amazing, but I probably got what I paid for. The wrong answers were not problems I had with the transcription course.

well who took the class your coworker or yourself? did you pay for her exam? - confused

[ In Reply To ..]
you said your coworker took CS and it was full of errors?

but second paragraph says you probably got what you paid for?

who took the CS? you or your coworker?

We both took CS trans. - Clarifying

[ In Reply To ..]
course some years ago, and my coworker is now taking the coding course. I'm not knocking the course, as I have no experience myself. I was just offering the info I have heard.

Quips like, "One must ignore the negative posters who knock some programs" is simply choosing to ignore negative comments in favor of something you're very interested in, while ignoring the potential problems or consequences.

Ultimately, do look at the cons AND pros before choosing any program. There will be negative and position information for any course you investigate. Much of the information is probably true, but that doesn't make it "negative." Just choose a combination of pros and cons that will work for you, whether or not your choice is Career Step. I have no stake in which school you choose. I was simply trying to offer some helpful information, which was, I think, what you asked for.

My experience with Career Step's transcription course (not coding) was that it was very basic and self-guided, and, primarily, cheaper than others. If price is a major factor for you, then perhaps Career Step should be higher on your list. If price is not so much a consideration and/or you need more support and guidance, i.e., a mentor or teacher, you might look at other programs.

Please do not calls posters "negative," simply because something the poster says conflicts with something you believe. Calling someone "negative" simply because you disagree is just an underhanded form of name calling.

Good luck with your decision!
Forum guest pass - Clarifying again
[ In Reply To ..]
Don't take my word for it. Career Step used to offer guest passes to their transcription and coding forums to potential students. Get a pass and see what the coding students are discussing. If they're discussing not errors, call me and my coworker liars. If errors are a point of contention, perhaps the posters saying they can't find errors should study a bit more.

Do your own research. Don't take my word or theirs. Good luck, again.

I am not noticing the errors you mention - see message - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
In the coding course.

because there are NONE - they were just knocking CS for their own reasons m

[ In Reply To ..]
one must ignore the negative posters who knock some programs. Besides look at it this way, "is HER shoe gonna be a good fit for YOUR foot"? No its not.

:-)
P.S. I am signing up for Career Step after six weeks of constant research on every medical coding program there is out THERE. It fits my budget and it fits the way I want to learn. This can only be decided upon on an individual basis. The Andrews School is a wonderful school to, but it wasnt for me.
You can't know - Clarifying
[ In Reply To ..]
that there are none if you haven't even enrolled yet, right? Not saying there are errors, since I'm not enrolled either, but neither of us can know. We're both basing what we say on the experience of others.
You can't know either - Anonymous
[ In Reply To ..]
If you're not enrolled. I'm not sure why the OP mentioned it at all when the whole thing is based on hearsay.
I also wanted to say - see message - Anonymous
[ In Reply To ..]
That the CS coding forums and chat rooms are for students and graduates only. I don't know when they were offering guest passes but they are not doing it now.
CS has a "potential students" board - Clarifying
[ In Reply To ..]
I can't imagine why they would offer this forum if they weren't still allowing guest passes. Do contact them if you're interested.
In fact, I see a post there from last week - Clarifying
[ In Reply To ..]
by someone who is considering enrolling but not yet enrolled, asking the differences between packages before she purchases.
Right, that's what I said - Clarifying
[ In Reply To ..]
See the post.


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