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Thanks, Linda, I am glad to have that done.

Congratulations, Judy! Way to go!

Awesome news, Judy! Congratulations!!

Congratulations Judy!

Just curious, how long after you graduated from the program did you take the CCS?

I graduated in May, then I took a month off to do a large project I had been putting off.  At that point I had not been in the CPT manual in a year and I felt like I needed to brush up on it and refresh everything else.  So I took Codemasters Exam prep course in July into August and scheduled the exam mid September.  Hope that helps. If you have other questions don't hesitate to ask. 

Thanks Judy! I actually do have a question. I am feeling the crunch of needing to get a job...like yesterday! So, I did not sign up for the Codemasters Exam prep in the hopes of taking the CCS sooner. I am now wondering, if it would have helped me.

Could you take a few moments and tell me what you got from the Codemasters Exam prep, and if you feel like you could have passed without it?

Thanks again, Judy!

I am the type that likes to be over prepared.  Since I don't really know how the exam is scored, I can't give a guess at whether I could have passed without the codemasters class, I am quite certain there are graduates that definitely pass without the class.  The things that I knew I needed were the DRG information, I was clueless about that.  Most of the coding clinic stuff is covered in the Nelly Chisen Leon book.  The APC stuff, which is DRG for outpatient, the discharge status indicators and the APC status stuff; those are the things that I would not have had a shot at answering other than a rank guess. The rest was good review, but I needed that because I had not been in the CPT in a while, then I took some time off after graduation.  If you can afford to, Codemasters offers just a DRG class, it is on demand so you can take it anytime, I am not sure how long it is or how extensive.  If you feel fairly confident, use one of the review books and go for it!  I used the AHIMA review book I have heard and good and bad, but it does give you some practice at those odd domains. If you at least have a couple of AHIMA practice exams to go through that might give you a better feel for what you need, you certainly may  not need the extra prep work.

I posted on the Industry-related discussion board, a lengthy post about the actual experience of taking the exam, if you want to see if there is any more info in that post that would be helpful. it was about the test facility atmosphere, as well as some of the stuff you need to be sure you know. 

Good luck!

Judy

WOW! That was very helpful information for me. Thank you for sharing it. I am putting everything I have got into passing this test and am hopeful I can do it without the Codemasters class. Thanks for the heads up on Nelly Chisen Leon's book. Sounds like that will be a good book to invest in. I also felt the same way you did about DRGs and APCs as you did. I do not feel confident in what I know, and plan on tracking down some more info. I took the online practice exam that goes along with the AHIMA exam Prep book. My weakest domain by far was the regulatory guidelines and reporting requirements for outpatient. Planning on reading through my CPT to refresh my memory.

Thanks again for all the helpful info, Judy, and GOODLUCK job hunting!