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Coding schools - Do hospitals respect Andrews? - anon

Posted: Nov 17, 2011

I know Andrews is the school recommended for MT training, but is it equally recommended for coding school? I'm looking into community colleges, etc., but wanted to check into online schools as well. Do hospitals respect Andrews as much as they would a community college degree for coding?

The Employers Respect The Fact That Andrews Grads Have Coding Credentials - Credentials Matter With Coding Employers

[ In Reply To ..]
Most hospitals are looking for the best they can get. In other words, if they can get a credentialed coder with years of experience and a good personality/attitude/work ethics, they're going to take that person. The trouble is, there aren't enough Certified Coding Specialists (CCS) to meet the requirements in many hospitals. Once they've hired the experienced ones, they go for those coders with no experience as long as they have a CCS, and if they have a CPC too, that's even better. It shows that they know how to code. The people hiring coders really respect credentialed coders.

Their coding course is as good as the MT course - See message

[ In Reply To ..]
There are probably a lot of good schools, but very few of them get the students prepared for the CCS exam. Andrews is geared toward both CCS and CPC.

The OP is right. Andrews does have a great reputation with its MT course. Some of the MT graduates go through coding after finishing MT. I would like to hear their comparison. The fact that they can pass credentials tests says a lot about the graduates too.

My experience is that hospitals don't care - what school

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Hospitals want coders with their CCS credential. They don't care what school you went to, or if you went to school. Yes, they require a high school diploma, but in my experience, all that matters is the CCS. This is what I have found in the coding world. Yes, I am an Andrews grad, but what they have been impressed with is the fact that I have my CCS.

To Anon - Andrews Student

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I am of the opinion that Andrews is an incredible school. Most colleges and schools I have attended take your money and send you off to class and leave it up to you to figure out how to take the skills learned to become productive in the real world. Andrews is different. The school is hyper focused on making sure that I develop the needed skills to turn my education into a career. The instructors, staff, and school owner are readily available for questions and concerns. When I am unclear on an assignment or test, I am given the opportunity to step back and slow down a bit to catch on. When needed, they create personalized assignments to help teach concepts that I may not have completely understood. The staff itself is trained, and some even still work in the field. These are live people behind the computer and phone, not just an automated system. I also appreciate the opportunity to pay for my education through a payment plan instead of trying to find financing. The payment plan is manageable within my tight budget. I feel that I am getting more than my money's worth. The school has a forum where students, graduates, and staff can communicate. I see on a regular basis graduates posting how well they are doing. It is very encouraging to see them find work very quickly, especially in this tough economy. Whenever I am asked where I am going to school, I proudly say "Andrews".

No one around here would even know who Andrews is - sm - Sam

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I hear good things about them but no one in my part of the country would give one flying fig about what school you learned from and I know they would have no clue who an on-line school is. How could they? There are a lot out there. I learned in a brick and mortar school from someone the AAPC recommended. People in my area definitely know that person and know she is outstanding in her field. That meant more, at least for me.

I asked Linda Andrews the same question - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I asked her if all the hospitals across the country know about Andrews. She said they usually don't know and don't care where you go to school. They just care about whether you can code well enough to take and pass the certification exams through AHIMA (CCS, CCS-P) and AAPC (CPC, CPC-H). She believes it's important to have both the CCS and CPC. The Andrews instructors help graduates prepare for both, but they don't promote one over the other.

She did say that the first thing they want is experienced, credentialed coders, but those are getting harder to find, especially since many experienced coders are leaving because they don't want to learn ICD-10. That means credentials alone are going to be more important than ever, because there aren't going to be enough credentialed coders with experience.

ICD-10 - Anonymous

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I don't understand why coders are refusing to learn ICD-10, I've been told it was not that big of a deal if you already have the background. Coding is coding. You will use your books and the encoder to look things up, and the old ICD-9 codes will probably be cross referenced. Not wanting to learn a new skill seems like a silly reason to quit a job, especially when they are so difficult to find currently.

Learning anything new scares some people and motivates others I think - Love To Learn

[ In Reply To ..]
It always inspires me to have to think of things in new ways. It scares some people though. Remember how terrified people were when we switched from typewriters to computers? I can't tell you how many times I heard people say it would be so much easier and better to just do it the old way.

The Explanation, in which All is Made Clear - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
For many older coders, learning coding was a difficult and lengthy process. A lot of them learned it in college, where it may have been difficult and stressful, and then had to learn the rest of it on the job, or they learned it only on the job. Many older coders rely on vast stores of memorized codes and concepts. They no longer look anything up because everything they need is right in the front of their brain, ready to go.

The thought of having to repeat what was a miserable learning experience is upsetting to some, as is the thought that they will have to begin all over again looking things up, since they will be unable to rely on their stores of memorized codes.

I'm not trying to belittle them . . . just to explain what seems to be worrying many older coders. They just see this as too much hassle and aggravation. They see themselves having to start all over at the beginning.

If you think about it, you may realize that this will put them on nearly the same footing as new coders. Everyone will be beginning from the beginning, or so the belief goes.

Think about how you would feel if you were very good at something and had many years of experience and seniority in your job. It might be disturbing to you to realize that you would have to learn all over again, that the knowledge stores that made you the senior "expert" would become useless, and that you would find yourself in the same deep end of the pool that they are in, having to start swimming again.

I do not think that all experienced coders feel this way. Some are looking forward to learning something new and many are making the most of what will be a financially lucrative thing.

However, some people do not really like learning new things. They do not really like change, either, and prefer things to stay the same. For those people, this change may seem to be scarier than it needs to be.

There are also a lot of coders who have made a practice of fear-mongering about ICD-10. They're the same people who stir up aggravation at other times, but now they have something big to focus on. They seem to be using it to drive their competitors out of the workplace.

Some coders are also becoming fearful about things that will not affect them. They are hearing about the things that institutions need to do, about things that computers have to be programmed to do, and other technical issues, and they are mixing the hype about that into what they need to do. Instead of focusing on the part that affect them, they are looking at things that they cannot control and do not need to control and, seeing that they can't understand a word of it, are letting that insecurity and fear affect them.

I've already learned ICD-10 and it isn't that difficult, but I've given up on trying to convince the Eeyores of that. Let them go! It will only open jobs for new coders.

Excellent explanation! I hadn't thought about all of that - Brilliant and informative explanation

[ In Reply To ..]
Not only does it clear things up, but it's also brilliant and informative. I hadn't thought of even half of that, but it definitely puts some of the weirdness into perspective. Thanks!

Great explanation - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
However, in most situations, the need to eat and pay bills would probably outweigh quitting one's job and losing a good income, unless you were ready to retire, due to the distress of having to learn something new.

That's a good observation - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Yes, I think that is correct. There are a lot of coders who are not near retirement age who are talking about quitting, but you know that they'll change their thinking on that, especially once they see that it's not that big of a deal.

At least of the coders I know, the ones claiming to intend to retire are inpatient coders and they are already or will be able to retire. We're talking about 30+ year inpatient coders. There are a lot of coders in that group because it doesn't seem to be the kind of job that encourages getting out of it as soon as possible. Coders might move into related jobs, but they don't tend to get out entirely. The pay is too good and the working situation too good to toss away.

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