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Welcome, Suzanne!  

It is great to know there is someone out there in the same situation!  =:-)   I live in central Ohio and just turned 59.  Being a transcriptionist for 7 years, now doing QA, I am also extremely anxious about changing careers at this stage in life.  I have made it through Module I (whew) and just started Module II, and it is certainly becoming more challenging already. 

Being a transcriptionist, you will do great with the first module!  My biggest challenge has been finding the time necessary to study while having to work 40 hours plus overtime, in addition to the roller coaster of life.  I just have to keep telling myself that it will all be worth it in the end!

Feel free to contact me anytime!  Happy studying!

Sue

Thanks for the encouragement Sue.  I am getting my notebook together and I will start studying tomorrow and take the introductory quiz on Thursday or Friday.  Let's keep in touch. 

Fondly, 

Suzanne

Hi :) I just started a few weeks ago myself. I'm 31, have a 3 year old daughter, part time job, and a little boy on the way. I have worked in the medical field in records, reception, and then a medical assistant for a bit. I am nervous about it getting more challeneging and finding the time....but we can do it! Welcome! Since we are pretty close in our progress hopefully we can address questions or concerns with one another. Good luck :)

Hi Suzanne!  I'm a MT student, nice to meet someone who has been doing that for a while.  My name is Kathy and I live in Florida.  I have two very active boys and a traveling husband and a very needy Boxer named Jack.  I love my MT program and I am learning something new every day!  Hopefully you will love this school as much as the rest of us.  :)

Kathy

Welcome to the club Suzanne!! I'll be turning 58 in a few days and am making a change from civil engineer. My wife is an Andrews grad has been doing the MT work for a few years. That is the extent of my medical training besides seeing the doc for the yearly visit. Since I am not employed at the moment, I have more time to catch up on the medical materials.

Notice how we get in and talk while the teachers are out? WOO HOO..PARTY.  Alright, that was enough fun, I'm back to work (Module I, Chap 7 Turley).  You can hear my atriums and ventricles beating with excitement.

Hi Suzanne,

Welcome to the course. I am a very recent graduate of the course and I am now 57. I started the course when I was 56 and was also a medical transcriptionist, for 12 years! What a coincidence! I just want to tell you that you can do this and it's natural to be nervous. I sometimes had doubts and was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it, but I did. I am now a full-time working coder and could not be happier. I no longer dread Monday mornings. :)

My best advice for anyone starting this course and throughout the entire course is to read all the stuff (RATS)! One minor little detail can mess you up, so take your time, RATS, and you will be fine. Learn your books really really well.

Carmen

Hi everyone!

I too am new to Medical Coding (just finishing Section 4 of Module 1).  I started October 13th.  It's reassuring to hear y'all talking about your doubts and trials with school work!  My absolute favorite part is reading the Turley book...so much fascinating information and using the terms on my family is really fun!  My kids were excited to hear that when they are chewing, they are "masticating" and that when they swallow, it's called "deglutition"!!  I have every confidence we'll all get through it and get good jobs!

It's especially reassuring to me to hear we can get coding jobs working from home, as that's my goal, having four children and a new house being built!  I can just picture myself upstairs in the new office, coding away!!

Welcome to Suzanne and Good luck to all of us!

Sara Ha

Welcome aboard, Suzanne! Apparently there are several of us here in our late 50s! I will be 57 in January and was a transcriptionist for 10 years before "retiring" in 2009 to home school and take care of our youngest daughter, who has serious health issues.

I, too, was quite nervous and excited about starting over in a new career, but I gain confidence and encouragement every time I read the discussions here.

Wishing you all the best!

Laurie

Dear Sue:

I am so upset. I just finished the respiratory and digestive test and got a 73%.  I am sitting here crying about this.  Did you get a good grade on the first test?  I hope they do not put me on academic probation. 

Thanks for listening. 

Fondly,

Suzanne

Suzanne, was that a terminology test? If so, we want you to know where to find that information when you need it. Don't stress too much about it. If it's an actual coding test, your instructor will help you with your problem areas, so don't stress too much about that either. Our goal is to help you learn from your errors, not beat you up about them.

To Richard:  HA!  You just thought the teachers were out for the holidays.  :)  Fortunately, we have a great group of hardworking students, so even if we had been, which we were not by the way, you would have done just fine.  LOL