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Journey From A File Clerk To Rewarding Medical Coding Career
Have confidence in yourself about medical coding and billing certification read, coding listserv emails, coding newsletters, and even parts of the CPT and ICD-9 manuals that most people overlook written by Elizabeth Hollingshead. You can get more tips for taking Coding Certification Exam to be an expert coder.
When Elizabeth Hollingshead took a temporary job at an ENT practice as a file clerk, it was something flexible to do. At the same time she continued her search for a full-time job. But what she didn't realized was that she had taken the first step toward a rewarding career.
At present, she's the billing and coding manager for a very busy urology physician. Here she shares some of her tips for advancing in a medical coding career.
Advantage being a working mom:
Hollingshead found time to share her ideas with us the week she was taking after her two kids return home with H1N1 flu. She likes being in a career community where folks share their tips readily.
Hollingshead says that she plunged into the coding and billing world quite by chance. She was the front office supervisor within a month of joining in as a file clerk “A couple of months later a position opened up in the billing department, and they asked me if I'd like to try it.” Read further to get a few certification exam taking tips from her…
Hollingshead remembers, “It just clicked. I had found more than a job; I had a career now.” She says coding is like a “mystery” and she analyzed the clues in coding reference sources and op reports to figure out the right answer. She has worked in three different specialties before settling into urology, over the years.
Tips for taking Coding Certification Exam:
She excelled her first coding certification exam in the year 2004, and now she looks forward to CPC, CMC and CMSCS. Next year or so, she plans to pursue her E & M and urology specialty certifications.
She provides some exam taking tips: “Have confidence in yourself and read, read, read.” She recommends daily coding listserv emails, coding newsletters, and even parts of the CPT and ICD-9 manuals that most people overlook. “There is quite a bit of ‘how-to' information … that many people have never gone through.”
A suggestion to the new coders:
“Just because you can code well and get paid for a service doesn't mean you SHOULD get paid for it,” Hollingshead emphasize. Keep abreast of publications and software, she recommends, “because things change quickly in this field”.
Hollingshead concludes that everyone is new to coding at some point; as such one shouldn't be afraid to ask questions and have fun.
About the Author
Erin Lang Masercola, PhD, CPC, has been writing about health care law, reimbursement, compliance and HIT for ten years. Most recently, she's been collaborating with medical coders and software engineers to create an amazing new online coding reference tool called Supercoder.com. She is a certified professional medical coder through AAPC.
