system.AndrewsSchool.com

I forget to mention one important detail - It's remote!

Thank you for this information, Cynthia!  That would be my situation and my desired job!  I just have to get my resume prepared.

Also, Verisk is apparently hiring about 50 or more new coders right now and they do hire CPC-As.

You're welcome, Sara!  Good luck! :)

Me too!  

Many thanks Cynthia and best of luck in your new role.

Susan 

Thank you, Susan, and you're welcome!  Good luck!

Huge congratulations Cynthia!!  That is such encouraging news.

All the best to you in your new endeavor!

Good to know Linda!!

Thank you, Nicki!  I'm very excited (and a little nervous!) 

Thank you for the valuable info, Cynthia--I am going to check them out!!

You're very welcome, Lori!  It's a great company!  Good luck and remember to mention my name as a referral!  If you get hired and we both pass the 90-day probationary period, we BOTH get $1000 bonus!!

Linda,

Do you have a contact name and number for the Verisk openings?

Thanks,

Sara

No, just comments from two people, one was our graduate and another someone I don't know. They said that they do hire CPC-As.  I found their web page though:

http://www.verisk.com/careers/overview.html

Hi Cynthia,

Thank you for the information.  I have used your name as a referral.

Heather

You're welcome, Heather!  Thank you for using me as a referral and good luck! :)

Yes, I agree TrustHCS is a fabulous job. It seemed to good to be true, but everything they have told me has been solid as gold. They hired me about 6 weeks ago. I also have my CPC-A. Danielle Richmond is an awesome person at TrustHCS and so is everyone else there! My highest recommendations for this company. We had a town hall meeting with the owner (I believe) of the company about a week ago and this company sounds like they care for all of their employees. This company has had nothing but positive growth over the last 5 years and expecting more growth in the future. If someone needs an extra referral, they can list me (Wendy Vaughn) as well. I am not looking for a referral bonus. I just want everyone else to have the same opportunity I have had. We all have to start somewhere. My personal advice, once you finish this school and you get in a position to help another person out with a job, help them. Never forget where you came from. Bless and be blessed. I wish the best to you, Cynthia! :0) Also, I want to thank Linda for all of her supporting comments and down-to-earth advice with everything. I am still a student. I want to say that I went through another coding course and didn't get the best foundation in certain areas, so this is why I am taking Linda's course, to get the best so that I can be my best in the coding industry. I only see things getting better and better in the future. Thanks to Linda and to TrustHCS, I feel I am on steady ground and have a steady future ahead of me. Thank you!

Just wanted to add, TrustHCS also hires CCA's if they do well enough on their coding exams. Just wanted to give CCA's some hope, especially if they are planning on pursuing their CPC and CCS. Good luck!

Thanks for giving me a chance to talk about why you don't want a CCA.  :)

I doubt that you'll find any CCAs here, only CPCs and CCS and sometimes a few specialty credentials, but not CCA. We have no students or graduates taking the CCA exam because it isn't marketable.  That's why we don't recommend it. It's like wearing a giant badge that says, "I had an introduction to medical coding but now I need someone to teach me to code and pay me while they are teaching me."   Employers have told me for many years that they will not consider a CCA. There may be a rare one that will allow them to test, but it's doubtful that they will test well enough to be hired.

Way too many students of other schools have been hurt by the fact that they didn't know that going into training. Now they have that CCA and can do little or nothing with it.

Save that money and use it to pay for your CCS exam.  :)

Yes, I am being opinionated about this.  No apologies.

Thank you, Wendy, for the reply!!  It's good to know you are working there too.  Congratulations on your job!  You have made me feel even better about this job and the company, TrustHCS.  I felt very positive about them already, but your comments reinforce it even more!  Thank you.

Congratulations on this wonderful achievement!  I know someone who works there, and she is very happy and has been with them for almost 2 years. 

Hi guys!   I just started working for TrustHCS too, on July 22!  I graduated last year and got lots of training with two other onsite jobs here in Seattle...but I kept at TrustHCS until I finally passed their coding assessment.   My ultimate goal was to work remote and it has happened!   Another Andrews grad was very encouraging to me as she has worked there for a while.   It feels good to know that I'm among "my people"  :)

I can tell you that it was discouraging at first having to ride the bus downtown for those first jobs, and the pay wasn't even that great considering the large facilities I was working for.   So I second what many coders have stated almost as a mantra:  be persistent, never stop learning, keep a positive attitude, have a little patience.

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn!

Heather Rose

I tried applying and even included your name as a reference, but they sent me back an e-mail informing me I didn't pass their employment exam.  A little disappointing and surprising at the same time.  I'm wondering if it's partly because in Module 4, we focus all our learning on the ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codebooks and I hadn't cracked the CPT or ICD-9 books since after Module 3, as I studied for the CPA, so I was quite out of practice.  I'm studying hard for the CCS now, in the hopes I haven't invested all that money for nothing!  I know we'll be more marketable once we have the CPC and the CCS certifications, but I guess my dusty ICD-9 and CPT skills didn't work on that exam!  They said I can try again in six months, but even if that doesn't work out, I'll be applying everywhere else.

Thank you, Instructor Kristi!  It makes me feel so good to know that other people are enjoying TrustHCS!  I have a really good feeling about it! :)

Congratulations, Heather!  How was your first week?  I'm a little nervous about starting Wednesday! I'm happy also that there are other Andrews grads working there!  I've heard great things about this company!  :)

Cynthia Klingelhoets

I'm sorry that this one didn't work out for you, Sara.  Thank you for applying and for using my name!  I appreciate it!  I know what you mean about being in Module IV and immersed in ICD-10-PCS.  It's really hard to go back and remember all the things we learned previously that we haven't touched for a while.  I have seen more jobs being posted lately for those of us with little to no coding experience.  I know you will find the perfect job and that you will rock the CCS exam!!  Don't let this get you down and keep applying! 

Cynthia

Hang in there Sara. I also had to switch back and forth between OP and IP coding to take the TrustHCS test. They sent me an offer last week which I accepted and sent back within 2 hours. I start on August 12!  Preliminary new employee paperwork in the works now.  And Cynthia, they suggested what I would mostly be coding to get my feet wet, so nervous is far out weighed by the focus on all my related notes. Time to do a bit of compilation :-)  Terry Ma (Andrews Grad from a few years back) told me I BETTER apply so she was my reference. I think we all made the right choices with Andrews and TrustHCS.

Congratulations Richard! I'm so happy for you and glad you were able to use Terry as a reference!  I think we all made the right choices also!  It will be great to have a nice Andrews presence there. :)

Posted on our Medical Coding Forum on Facebook:  "My name is Kelly Frazee and I am a recruiter for Coding Services Group. I am always seeking great coders to work remotely with flexible schedules and a fabulous attitude! Would love to talk to you if looking for a new opportunity!"

I don't know anything about Coding Services Group. If any of you pursue it and learn anything, please post anything you can share with us.

I noticed that quite a few of you have joined the Facebook Group "Jobs for American Coders."  That's an excellent group. I recommend it!  It's even good for networking before you are ready to go to work, just to get into the idea of jobs. You'll see lots of people of varying levels of medical coding skills and education.

Be aware that some of the best recruiters are there watching to see how people behave. There are lines of professionalism that you never want to cross, especially on a forum like that where recruiters are undoubtedly taking a few notes. 

I get to 'play around' a little bit more, because I'm not applying for a job, and it's a way to get to know some of those recruiters behind the scenes by e-mail and phone when I have some visibility there. There are also lines that I definitely don't cross.

Some of you may have seen a rather severe 'dust-up' between a couple of otherwise apparently pleasant 'gentle'men who teach medical coding. That incident was unpleasant before it eventually was removed when it got completely out of hand. It's best to keep a very wide distance from those threads.

There are always lines not to cross, name-calling and just plain rudeness included of course. Just watch your behavior there, have a professional presence, and over time you may hear from a recruiter or they may recognize you and give you preference when you apply.  You never know. In the meantime, I get to be just a tad bit 'outrageous' at times, but all of you should not.  :)

Something else that some of you already know but others who are new may not. It's okay when people attack Linda Andrews or The Andrews School. Each time that happens, we enroll half a dozen great new students.

Not that I want any of you to go out and ATTACK me, but if you see someone do it, look for new people as a result.  They mean it for harm, but it turns out for good, every time. 

Seriously, sometimes I see someone attacking and I think, "We'd better order more books for the new students that will be enrolling."   I used to take it personally until I realized that it was working to our advantage. If I could, I would choose NOT to be attacked, but reality is, that's just the world we live in. I had to toughen up and learn not to take any attack personally. 

Proverb for the day, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches."

If we were to list a few of the employers who hire medical coders, here would be a short list. Feel free to add to it.

TrustHCS

HIMagine

Harmony Healthcare

Comforce

Verisk Health

UASI