system.AndrewsSchool.com

Hi everyone! Linda asked me to stop by and tell about a recent experience. I completed my course late last year and was fortunate enough to have my first coding job before I completed school. However, I did not stay very long there due to it being an extremely long commute and not for much money. So I found something much, much closer to home that was supposed to be a wonderful opportunity, but it turned out to be a dud. They basically pulled the wool over my eyes and it was more of a medical transcription position than a coding position. It was billing, data entry, insurance verification stuff, just not at all what it was supposed to be. But, it was $3 more per hour than the other job and much closer, and once I left the other job, I could not go back. The position had already been filled. Lesson learned...So, in the meantime I passed the CPC first try and passed the CCS on 3/29/14. So I started the job hunt again. I interviewed for this particular job way back in late November/early December. It's a HIM Outpatient Coder position for a very large teaching hospital, the only level 1 trauma hospital in the state. I am very, very excited about this position. I only wish it were for inpatient instead of outpatient. But, that will come in time. During my interview, he basically told me I would never progress in his department without the RHIA, RHIT, or CCS. The CPC (which is what I had at the time of my interview) was not what he was looking for. So, the call never came for the job offer. Fast forward to April 2014. After I passed the CCS, I started getting phone calls from HR stating they wanted to move forward with the hiring process. A couple of weeks later, I had a job offer that I turned down because of parking issues, price of parking, etc. So, they called me back and counter offered and made me a $4000 sign-on bonus and practically free parking. HR can make it happen. They have the power. Starting salary is $4.80 more than my first coding job. I start with them the first week of June. Very excited and happy to share my experiences with you. I have learned...if you live where there are many hospitals (I live within an hour of 3 large cities), they are basically looking for AHIMA credentials. Some of the web sites won't even let you progress with the online application if you don't have the credentials they are looking for. Private physician groups are not as picky with the credentials. Some don't even know the difference in credentials. A coder asked me why I bothered getting the CCS and the CPC. She said it's the same thing, right? WRONG. They have different values depending on where you will work. Good luck to all.