I am soooo frustrated with myself now. I was doing so well and now I seem to have hit a roadblock. Any insight as to what I'm doing wrong....ARRRGGGGHHH!!!! Could really use some prayers here to...my life just seems to be getting more and more complicated.
Hi Debbie. I'm sorry you're so frustrated. I just wanted to let you know you're not alone. I experienced the exact same thing last night with Pregnancy and 5th digits. Frustration is an understatement! I finally had to close the books and walk away. Today I am going to start the section over completely and read everything (for the fourth time!), including Chapter 11 in the Guidelines. Keep your chin up and good luck!
Thank you, Debbie. Weird, I was working on the same thing, pregnancy and 5th digits. Again, thank you for your response.
Guess what? I'm a Debbie too, and I also experienced frustration with the pregnancy section of coding! Maybe it's a "Debbie" thing? LOL!!! My advice is to just hang in there and don't let it get the best of you! You will have better days ahead, and yes, probably a few more downers.....Just don't give up!!! :)
Wow! How many Debbies' are there of us? :0
In future years we can refer to 2011-12 as "The Debby/Debbie Years!" :)
I don't know exactly how many we have at present, but I checked my records and we've had 81 overall.
Hey all the Debbies!
I am in MT--module 1! And I am suffering with frustration too. It's a horrible feeling. I feel like an idiot with most of the mistakes I've made.
Good Luck to each of you!
Hi Beth.... Whatever you do, don't beat yourself up. All of us have experienced your frustration, and then some. Just take it section by section, and don't worry what's ahead of you. I did a lot of researcing online also, and tried to read as much as I could do get (correct) information and guidelines, references, meaning and so forth for the area I was studying in or the question I was working on.
Never be afraid to ask the instructors for help! They have been extremely understanding and kind, and I always appreciate their guidance. It WILL come to you.... I'm ready for Module III and am scared, but excited at the same time. I'm sure you'll see me posting my frustrations too!
I'm in Module IV and I've also been frustrated for a few weeks; however, today, I finally got my motivation back and started working on the exercises again. Sometimes you just have to let things sit in order to get moving again.
I'm in the middle of Mod III and I think my brain has shut down. Apparently, trying to fit together ICD-9-CM codes and CPT is causing a meltdown. I'm working through the exercises, but I'm getting more wrong than correct, which does not bode well for my test. I think I need more exercises with answers that I can chew on. And a double shot of something adult.
~whimper~
I got a giggle reading your post... its too early in the day for a "double shot of something adult'. I can certainly relate! Instead, take a break and clear your head. Go for a walk, sip on some tea. Anything to take your mind off this for awhile and then jump in fresh.
The past two weeks I HAVE had meltdowns, but unrelated to Andrews studies. We just spent the last month packing, storing and moving. It has been an emotional as well as physically exhausting time, as we had JUST designed and built the dream home/lodge we sold... only having lived in it 18 months! He decided the drive was too far and preferred to live closer to town (we are near St. Louis). So, while we search for acreage and/or a house to build on or remodel again, we are now living in our RV. Crazy, especially with the winter months looming ahead.
Last week, I set up my office at my daughters house in order to give myself the quiet that I need to work (MT) and study. She and her husband LOVE this arrangement since I end up doing their laundry, dishes, and picking my grandsons up from school twice a week, and other cleaning that I just cant keep myself from doing. I am moving in all different directions, and yet I feel like I am getting nowhere. I have not had the time or energy to concentrate on Andrews and I feel very stressed about that.
My goal this week is to review and kick it back into high gear. I was hoping to sit for the CPC exam in December.
Thanks for letting me not know I am not the only one frustrated. After not finishing some deadlines, I took a break and pushed the books aside. THEN my mother had a stroke on October 5th! So my break lasted slightly longer than I had hoped for....Now I am am hopefully kicking it into high gear and finishing my last 1-2 deadlines on time.
I can definitely relate. I was doing really well and then felt like I had hit a wall. It seemed like I had forgotten everything I had learned thus far; making mistakes on things I had done correctly in previous assessments. Sometimes I think when we start doing well, or seem to be catching on, we let our guards down and forget that we still need to work hard! Remember that all the information we have learned we won't remember the first time, and that it needs to become engrained in us. I'm trying to view these frustrating times as reminders to keep pushing forward staying focused! Keep up the good work everyone! (Thanks for letting me vent.)
L-O-N-G MESSAGE ALERT:
This really is a tough course. I read these messages and I'm shaking my head in agreement. I understand. You're learning some very difficult material. Nobody ever said it was easy, but it is do-able.
I'll let you listen in on my 'thinking out loud' moment here.
You know what I always think about when I read about the meltdowns and setbacks that come before it all starts coming together? I think about the people who are told that they can 'learn coding' in 3 months. It partially explains the high failure rate for credentials tests.
They get what I would consider to be an Introduction to Medical Coding, but they don't realize how much they don't know. They may never have to experience the ARRRRGH moments, because they only touch the surface of what coding is all about......until they go to take the CCS exam or test for a job. Now that CCS exam is not easy for anyone, no matter how thorough your education, but just think how hard it would be if you only had 1/4 of the education you will have when you finish this course. I believe I would be very discouraged at that point because you would have a couple of options. The choices would be to give up and start looking for another career choice because you are poorly prepared for a medical coding career or start over with a more solid education. Most don't have the time and/or money to start over. It's really best to do it right the first time, as hard as the course is. It's better than the alternative.
What I enjoy reading is the updates from our students once they've gone through the meltdowns and are at the point where they can see where they've been and where they are going. At that point you have the knowledge to recognize what you don't know. At the 3-month point, you are pretty much clueless about what you know/don't know, but that's the point where coding education ends for many coding courses. I wouldn't do it that way. I'm glad all of you are taking the more thorough approach, as hard as it may seem at times.
Hi Beth,
I am also in Module 1. I am getting closer to the end of Module 1. I find it frustrating at time, but remind myself that it will not be long until I start Module 2. I am looking forward to Module 2.
Sometime you just have to take a break, and come back with a fresh outlook. I know that the end result of all this work will be worth it.