Congratulations to our current student, Tara H, who just passed her CPC exam. I am so proud of you, Tara! Well done. I wish you would share with everyone what you told me about the whole process and how it changed your original conceptions as you made a transition from other careers in healthcare.
Congratulations Tara!
Congratulations!
Nicki
Congratulations, Tara!
Way to go, Tara! Well done!
Yay Tara!! Way to go!!
Thanks everyone! I am so happy that I have achieved my first credential. As I mentioned to Linda, my journey like everyone else as been bumpy with highs and lows, with several moments of doubt, and the question of am I really cut out for this line of work.
I initially thought that coding would be "a walk in the park" with my past background of "coding" claims for a major insurance company but boy was I wrong! I even had the nerve to compare it to medical transcription and guess what? Wrong again! Medical coding is a world of its own and totally blew out of the water all the misconceptions I had regarding it. Did my claims background and brief medical transcription career help me with my learning? Yes and no. Beforehand, I was familiar with place of service codes and some of the CPT codes but never knew the amount of work and knowledge involved in arriving at those codes. I was familiar with medical terminology and anatomy but never realized the importance of knowing medical terminology and anatomy go hand and hand with determining the correct diagnosis and procedure codes. This course has truly been an eye-opener for me and I am so glad I enrolled.
Here are some things I did to help me prepare for the CPC exam. I purchased the study guide and practice exams from AAPC. I cannot stress how much both purchases were well worth it for me personally. The study guide is a chapter by chapter review and even offers exam tips throughout. The practice exam accurately simulates how the exam will be and times you as you do the "mock" exam. The time feature was invaluable to me because as I completed each practice exam I could easily see that time would not be my friend but a foe. With that in mind I repeatedly timed myself and even figured a "timeline" for myself. Since there are 150 questions and the exam needs to be completed within 5 hours 40 minutes, I divided the exam up into 3 parts and gave myself 1 hour 50-55 minutes for each 50 questions. This worked for me and I finished up with 25 minutes to spare! I also like that the practice exams give you the rationale for any questions that you missed. This comes in handy for adding notes to ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS books. Last but not least I figured out what my percentage would be for each practice exam and from there calculated how many questions I could miss for the entire exam and still pass. Since there are 150 questions, I calculated about 45 errors would put me right at 70% which is still passing. Knowing this as well as the fact that Andrews equips us so well for not only this exam but for any other that we aim for made me feel a whole lot better.
Awesome Tara H!! Thanks for sharing with us your pearls for success!
Thank you Tara. Reading of others' experiences throughout the testing process provides invaluable insight to those of us who have yet to take it. I really appreciate you taking the time to tell us your tale, and again-congratulations!!
Congratulations, Tara!! Thank you for sharing your prep methods. I'm scheduled in September and plan on doing the online test and prep book as well. Best wishes for your remaining module and the CCS! You can do it!
Thank you, Tara, for your recommendations on purchasing the CPC Study Guide and Practice Exams Bundle. I had already purchased the study guide when I scheduled my exam, as other students had recommended it, and I've now purchased the CPC Practice Exams Bundle. I have no doubt Andrews has prepared us well, but I think the time constraints of the CPC exam might be challenging. (Not to mention sitting for 5+ hours!) While I really didn't want to spend more money, I feel it is money well spent, as I'd rather err on the side of being over-prepared!
Congratulations!
I also purchased the AAPC CPC Study Guide and practice exams. They were extremely helpful, along with the great training that we received at Andrews, to pass the CPC exam.
Congratulations!