Wiki Should I go for my CPC?

gacevedo11

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Hello Everyone,
Just looking for some input as to whether or not it's worth getting my certification. I am currently employed by my local hospital in the billing department. I am a billing rep. I feel that I am burnt out with this job. I am always looking for employment elsewhere. I completed my training about 1 1/2 yr ago but I haven't gone for my certificate. I am not sure whether or not it's worth the expense to get it since I'm feeling the way I am. Could you give me an honest opinion? If you're sick and tired of being in front of the computer all day and feel stuck knowing there's no position where you can move up to, tired of looking at claims and dealing with insurance companies that are constantly trying to get out of paying you and/or keeping you on the phone for over 25 minutes before you get help with a 50/50 chance of resolution, would you go and spend all the money to get the CPC certification and deal with trying to get the Apprentice status removed then have a hard time looking for a coding job? Would you go through with it or just cut your losses and look for a new career?
 
Here is my honest opinion on your question:

It really depends on what you want to do in your job career. This is really key in order to understand what you want to end up doing. Do you want to stay in health care administration or is there another type of work you are burning for?

Note that working as a coder will largely be in front of a computer, looking through medical records and coding for most of the day. Depending on the company you will end up working for, there might be advancement opportunities that extend to Training, Provider Education, Risk Adjustment, Management, etc. I have worked for companies where I quickly hit the job ceiling, and companies where sky seems to be the limit as long as you show motivation, skill and aptitude.

As a coder you will also have days where you might get sick of looking at medical records, but that is often the case with most jobs. And then you have days where you just simply love what you're doing. This type of motivation also largely depends on the company and management you work for. Are they a boss or are they a leader? If you are in management, are you the boss or are you the leader by example?

You state you are working as a biller. This could show you understand insurance and perhaps even some coding which will be helpful in landing your first coding job.

At any rate, also state that you are burnt out with your current job. Perhaps you need to just do something completely different and get out of the insurance world. However if you like the healthcare administration career, but would like to do something more, medical coding is a good stepping stone to advance an already experienced career. Medical coding is not an entry level career, but the next step for someone with either coding experience (best), or at least some medical office experience, preferably health insurance. You can probably just pick up the CPC Study Guide, Practice Exams and the actual exam bundle and build on the training you took a few years ago.


I hope this guides you somewhat. At the end of the day, what matters is what you want to end up doing. I personally never thought myself as a medical coder before, but my CPC has opened up doors I never thought possible. Good luck!
 
Here is my honest opinion on your question:

It really depends on what you want to do in your job career. This is really key in order to understand what you want to end up doing. Do you want to stay in health care administration or is there another type of work you are burning for?

Note that working as a coder will largely be in front of a computer, looking through medical records and coding for most of the day. Depending on the company you will end up working for, there might be advancement opportunities that extend to Training, Provider Education, Risk Adjustment, Management, etc. I have worked for companies where I quickly hit the job ceiling, and companies where sky seems to be the limit as long as you show motivation, skill and aptitude.

As a coder you will also have days where you might get sick of looking at medical records, but that is often the case with most jobs. And then you have days where you just simply love what you're doing. This type of motivation also largely depends on the company and management you work for. Are they a boss or are they a leader? If you are in management, are you the boss or are you the leader by example?

You state you are working as a biller. This could show you understand insurance and perhaps even some coding which will be helpful in landing your first coding job.

At any rate, also state that you are burnt out with your current job. Perhaps you need to just do something completely different and get out of the insurance world. However if you like the healthcare administration career, but would like to do something more, medical coding is a good stepping stone to advance an already experienced career. Medical coding is not an entry level career, but the next step for someone with either coding experience (best), or at least some medical office experience, preferably health insurance. You can probably just pick up the CPC Study Guide, Practice Exams and the actual exam bundle and build on the training you took a few years ago.


I hope this guides you somewhat. At the end of the day, what matters is what you want to end up doing. I personally never thought myself as a medical coder before, but my CPC has opened up doors I never thought possible. Good luck!

Pathos, Thank you for the thought out response. I really do appreciate it. I have decided to go through with it and see where it leads me to. I do like the insurance/medical world, but I think my burnt out feeling is more due to the lack of pay and the advancement opportunities in this department. I really enjoy training people and helping people understand things so hopefully after a few years I can get in to something like that. Maybe even teach at a Coding course.

I have decided to move forward and go for the certification. Hopefully I can get this done and pass the first time around :) Thank you again for your response.
 
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