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

Making the Switch from MT to Coding - antigeekess

Posted: Jun 16, 2015

Hi all, I've been an MT for the past 5 years and am sitting for the CPC next month to switch to coding. Who will hire me as a CPC-A? Does anyone know a good online company to work for that they're willing to tell about? :) Thanks.

Smart people don't talk about their employers if they like their jobs - small message

[ In Reply To ..]
If you want to lose your job, start telling people it's a great place to work. No matter how well you know someone, you don't know if they are as good at coding as they think they are. Word always gets back to us as employers that someone is sending us applicants when we can take of that on our own, thank you very much. If we have a job opening, we'll announce it or ask others to refer people to us. Until then, don't talk about your employers if you like your job. That's Rule #1 in the Common Sense Rulebook of Keeping a Good Job.

I'm certainly aware that this is a common attitude... - antigeekess

[ In Reply To ..]
...especially on this site. However, there may actually be cases here and there of people who are competent and feel valued and secure enough in their jobs who are also aware that their employers have more than enough work to go around, and who are not threatened by those who are equally competent.

That would be the type of individual to which I was directing my question, if indeed there are any who frequent this site.

You missed the whole point in the poster's message - Not that it matters

[ In Reply To ..]
The point is not that one person is competent, feels valued and secure, and the employer has enough work to go around. Posting online means that hundreds of unqualified people will swarm to apply. Most people know this already. It's simply not done by those who are wise. Business 101. Enough said about that.

The proper way to refer an individual for a job - ST

[ In Reply To ..]
There is a proper and appropriate way to refer someone to a job. First you know the person and their qualifications. You still don't know the quality of their work, so you don't burden your employer with a blanket referral. You talk to your employer and ask them for permission to refer the person. Only then is it appropriate. This is not only Business 101, but it's etiquette that anyone in business knows.

Well, a few things... - antigeekess

[ In Reply To ..]
1. There is the "reply by email" option to keep replies private, if one so wishes.
2. The replies given would seem to indicate the employer's inability to successfully screen applicants on their own, which is mostly done electronically anyway by testing and often requires very little HR involvement unless the computer-graded results of the testing are positive.
3. Nepotism 'really' isn't the best way to go about hiring. It was the accepted way of doing things at my last onsite job, and resulted in me attempting to train several untrainables with "30 years' experience" who were not at all equipped for the modern workplace.

So, thanks for all the finger-wagging, but really... just not helpful and again, not what I asked for, is it? It is, however, 'precisely' what I've come to expect from this site after observing it for several years and entirely predictable.

You obviously know more than we do so not sure why you asked - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Dang! - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Even if it weren't unprofessional/inappropriate to blindly refer someone to one's company, based on your remarks alone I wouldn't give you the information you are requesting. Geez...it's like you're pouting and subsequently retaliating/lashing out because you didn't get your way. Softening up and losing the chip on your shoulder will likely you get you much further. Do some research and good luck with that.

No, sorry, you are mistaking this for MT - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
You said screening was "mostly done electronically anyway by testing and often requires very little HR involvement unless the computer-graded results of the testing are positive."

No, employers of coders do not screen applicants on the basis of some online test like MTSOs do.

Employers screen them on the basis of credentials, experience, the resume and application, and interviews. If you get past that, an opportunity to test might be offered.

My employer does not use a test. We will ask for responses to coding situations in the interview, however.

We don't test either; just look for both CPC and CCS credentials - Not Electronic Screening Here

[ In Reply To ..]
We have one goal in mind. An applicant that gets an interview with us has both CPC and CCS to show that they have a very broad, tested understanding of medical coding. An RHIA would also be considered with a transcript that shows that they had advanced coding. Some RHIA programs don't. We're more comfortable with the CCS. After the credential requirements have been satisfied, the interview tells us what we want to know. Then we check references. It's a long, careful thought-out process. You're new to this industry. Perhaps a softer approach might be more appropriate until you have a little coding experience and some credentials behind you, plus experience in hiring medical coders as well. So far you have none of that, so your opinion is not as credible as it will be when you do, if you ever do. There are those who listen to people with expertise and those who stubbornly hang on to their own ideas, which are not based on fact. Those people are not teachable. We run into them every day. They don't work for us (long), of course.

Try your school - AC

[ In Reply To ..]
Have you tried a community forum at your school,or looked at monster. I did see a company on Monster that hires with the CPC-A credential remote. They train.

"Threatened by those who are equally competent"??? - Not at all ...

[ In Reply To ..]
I am not at all threatened by those who are equally competent. You, however, are not equally competent. You aren't even close. To use baseball as an analogy, I am in the major league, while you are learning t-ball. I am not exaggerating.

I'll tell you why because it might help you get a job.

I don't know what course you are taking, but if you can only test for the CPC, it is lightweight. While my employer would accept a CPC, you would need two years of experience. A referral would not help you. Further, your belief that you are a goddess of coding with your little course and the CPC-A that you aren't even taking until next month indicates that you have absolutely no perspective on your new career. In other words, you have a stupendously inflated view of your own importance and it is completely unfounded.

Second, coding does not operate like MTSOs. The fact that you don't know this is a problem. It communicates that your school did not teach very much. We don't actually have a bunch of "online companies" to which anyone can submit an application and get hired. The majority of jobs are in-house. The few companies that offer remote services are typically highly selective, require considerable experience, and usually require AHIMA credentials. Which you do not have now or have any chance of getting for another two years, because it appears you took the wrong course.

We talk all the time on this board about the difficulty new CPCs have getting jobs. If you could take the CCS, that would help, but since you can't, you might want to do the AAPC's virtual experience program. That would at least get rid of the -A.

Tone yourself down. Grandiose and inappropriate thinking will keep you from getting a job. No one wants or needs a high-conflict coder.

My employer posts jobs on the internet. The postings are readily available to you.

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