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I am almost done with my coding program but - sm

Posted: Sep 22, 2011

now I don't know if I want to be a coder :(. I planned on taking the CPC and then after a few years taking the CCS. Before I started my program, I was naive and didn't realize how difficult and complex coding is. I don't know that I can sit in front of a computer for 8 hours and code all day long. It's almost too much like MTing (desk work, I mean). Plus, I am not confident in my ability to even pass the CPC. I am not very satisfied with the program I took. It was taught by a lady who is a coder, CCS, at our local hospital, but she was so here and there and confused me most of the time. I am wondering how difficult the CPC is? Has anyone taken the CCA? I don't know what to do? Wishing I would have gone to a brick and mortar school and went into nursing or something. How do you all like being a coder?

There are lots of talented coders (and MTs) who are terrible teachers unfortunately - Sympathetic

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm really sorry to hear about your poor experience in coding. From what I hear you saying,

1) You believe you are better suited for hands-on patient care rather than a desk job.

2) You took a coding course taught by someone who sounds a little disorganized and not a very good teacher.

3) You are unsure of your skills and don't know if you will be able to pass even the CPC exam, and even if you did, you are unsure if you would enjoy coding, because you don't enjoy it as a coding student in the course you are taking.

First I would say that you probably learned some things. Knowledge is rarely wasted. I wish you had taken a really solid coding course, because coding can be fascinating! I'm always learning something new and interesting. Never bored with it even though every job has its ups and downs. No job is perfect.

Second, I would say that you may just be a person who wants to work with patients.

I love coding, but if I had taken a community college course in it that hadn't taught at the higher level required to be a CCS and a CPC both, I don't think I would like it at all. I think I would have just been disappointed and discouraged until I finally got discouraged enough to give up and go do something else.

If you do take the CPC, I hope you do well on it. Talk to some of your fellow students or some of the graduates of that course to see how they did on the test. That's probably how you will do. In other words, if the course is teaching at the level required to pass the CPC, their graduates will be able to tell you so, and they will be proud to tell you about their success. If not, the course just doesn't have the right content or enough of it. For your sake, I hope you find that graduates of the course you took are doing well on the CPC test. Otherwise, I hope you look into some kind of career in hands-on patient care. It sounds like you need and want a "brick-and-mortar" school. Find one that has graduates who do what you want to do, and enroll in it!

Good luck with your decisions!

Thanks for your great post!!!! - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Don't let that spoil it for you - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Coding is much less "desk work" than MT. It just seems to be that way to you now. Many coders have jobs where they sit at desks most of the time, but others have jobs where they can go see providers and get out of the office. It depends on what you want to do and whether you'll be willing to do the work, advance your learning, and get the credentials needed to get into a less-desky job.

You will not be prepared for the CCA if your course was oriented to the CPC. That's not because you don't know coding, but because there is a lot of statistical "medical records" and administrative stuff in the CCA.

There is no way to tell from your post what test you should be able to take. Can you tell us what books you used? If your teacher was a CCS, did you code actual inpatient cases? Or what? If you'll tell us more specifically, we can probably tell you what test to take first.

The best way to find out if you're ready for the CPC is to take it. There is no risk involved in that! Your exam fee covers two attempts. If you do not pass the first time, you can take it again within a year, I'm fairly certain. (Check the AAPC website to be sure.)

If you don't pass it, you will know exactly what you need to study. You'll have enough time that you can do that, too.

Just let us know what your course covered and we can point you in the right direction.

My course covered - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Anatomy & physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacy, healthcare delivery, health data content, medical billing, procedure coding (outpatient), diagnosis coding (inpatient) and then two advanced coding classes that covered inpatient and outpatient. We used 3-2-1 Code It book to code and then she gave us a booklet of actual cases to code. I thought this was a great course with tons of good info but it was just the way she taught it. Skimmed over a lot of things and didn't take her time.

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