Thank you ladies for the congrats. Laureen you asked what advice I would give a new comer.
I recall starting the PBC program and thinking this isn't so difficult! But then I came to the nut and bolts of coding, the ICD-9 Chapters and thought how can anyone get this, it was so overwhelming and hard to understand. My advice for newbies is not to beat yourself up for not remembering everything right away. It will come with repetition and the future chapters in the program. I used to get so frustrated that my initial chapter test scores were below 70%. I took the test over, learned from it and moved on. By the time I completed the program everything came together. Prior to the PBC program I had to leave a job I loved as a team lead for a dental office to finding a significantly lower paying job as a Clinical Assistant to obtain medical insurance for myself and my husband. From there I became a PCA then Patient Account Service rep over 3yr's time. Upon completion of the program I applied for a Coder position that required 1 yr experience. I figured it couldn't hurt! I interviewed and was offered the position. I had to work my way down and then back up to get experience in the medical field. It has been hard financially for us but has finally paid off. I gained on the job experience and then took my certification and passed. I hope my story can help others. Now on to ICD-10 training in a few weeks. Jill CPC-A