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

Question for experienced coder - Brand New Student

Posted: Jun 10, 2015

Would an experienced coder be willing to help me with a question via private email? I am very new in school and feeling stumped already on something that seems very basic. It has me wondering if I can do this after all.

That sounds like a good question for your instructor if you have one - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are brand new and already stumped, you may be having a fairly normal experience. If you are in a course that has instructors, contact your instructor and talk to them about it. If your instructor isn't credentialed, I wouldn't bother of course, but if they are, they know by now where you are and what requirements are being made of you at this point and if there are any signs that maybe you can't do this at all. None of us here can help you with that, because we don't know the quality of your work. If we could help, we would, but it probably would even be unethical for us to barge in where we don't belong and get between you and the instructor who has the resources and knowledge to actually give you some good help to solve your problem.

Not really asking for help with the - Brand New Student

[ In Reply To ..]
question of whether or not I can do it. Just wanted to ask a question about the actual coding and why it should be one code as opposed to another. Sometimes it helps to get another point of view, and sometimes one person can explain it in a way I can understand it when another one is not (no disrespect meant to the person who already explained it). Thanks for your reply.

You really don't want to approach your studies that way - Old Professional

[ In Reply To ..]
It sounds like the instructor explained it to you, but you can't understand it, in which case you go back again to say, "This is the part of it that I don't understand." Then spell it out and ask for help. I'm a coding instructor. We can't read your mind. If we didn't give you enough to go on or if you didn't understand our explanations, ask again. Keep on asking very specific questions until you do understand it, unless it's one of these areas in coding where it becomes clear over time. There are a number of those areas, but you probably aren't into them yet if you are brand new. Stay inside whatever system you are working in. Approach your studies appropriately, through the right channels. You'll get better results.

It is not an instructor who explained it, but - Brand New Student

[ In Reply To ..]
rather a friend who is taking the program at the same time. I appreciate your thoughts. Take care.

Here is my suggestion if it works for you - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
Most of us don't respond to mail from strangers, but here's what I think would work.

If you have, as the message earlier said, a credentialed medical coding instructor, then there's your resource it. Go there for your answer, because that's the adult thing to do.

If you don't have a qualified, credentialed instructor, and many courses don't have anyone to ask questions of, ask your question here, in general terms. We can give you a general answer, being careful not to answer a test question for you. Will that work?

My EGO tells me to answer your question; my BRAIN tells me otherwise - Thinker

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are a new student stumped on something basic, your instructor is qualified to help you. We aren't, even though it would inflate our ego and make us feel very important, that's not the best thing for you. If your instructor is not available or if the instructor is the problem, contact the person who enrolled you. Don't worry that they might get mad at you for asking the question. If they are mean to you, come back and tell us.

Two suggestions - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Most people are not going to be ok with private email. If you have a question, there is no reason you cannot ask it here.

You should ask your instructor first, for all the reasons everyone pointed out. I will explain something most courses miss, though.

You should not be assuming that your friend is correct. It is also very silly to be worried about whether you can do this or not. It is highly unlikely that you cannot do this. There is nothing particularly difficult about this. It just looks impossible at first. As you practice it, you will start seeing what the indexes are saying and it will become easier.

How do you know it is one code or the other?

1. You look it up correctly. There is a way to do that. You do not have to "know" anything in advance about it except how to look it up.

2. Most codes are cut and dried. One or the other. Some, though, are less clear. When a lot of coders have trouble with them, advice is published in Coding Clinic.

It is hard to say without know what you tried to look up. Do it again, though. This time, look it up in the alphabetic index (the one at the front of the book). Find the code you need there. That will be the whole code or part of it. Look up that code in the numerical list. Read and follow anything else you see there. It should point you to ONE code.

What you want to avoid is thinking that you can look around in the numerical list until you see something good. You MUST get the code first from the alphabetical list. You cannot stop there, either, but MUST then look that up in the numerical list.

Note that at the beginning of courses, some examples are too difficult for most students. Some are in the books to provide fodder for classroom discussion.

Some courses are famously instructorless and famously error-filled. If you are in one of those, expect more of this.

questions - kt16

[ In Reply To ..]
My advice is to get friendly with a successful coder. I made it through an instructor-less, online course by talking things out with a friend who was a coder. Keep looking for someone...

Really Bad Idea and here's why - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Your future potential employer isn't going to care that you had a friend who is a coder. Where are you going to put that on your resume? All they will see is the poor, instructor-less online course that they already know doesn't teach anything and uses screen shots instead of books. Keep looking for a better course, not a friend who is a coder.

If you would say what you are trying to code, - I will explain. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
Nm

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