Mary Anne Durling’s career in healthcare began in high school when she participated in a health occupations program and became an EMT right after graduation. She worked in emergency medical services and hospital settings until injuries forced her to transition into administrative roles, including ED registration and prior authorization work.

Her interest in medical coding was sparked when she saw an ad for a coding class, which led her to pursue a career in the field. She initially worked on the payer side, handling claims and appeals, before launching her own auditing business.

She helped patients and businesses navigate billing and coding complexities, gaining recognition after appearing on a talk radio show. After relocating to North Carolina, she started teaching medical coding courses at local community colleges, eventually expanding the curriculum into a full certificate program.

Despite initial resistance, her program grew significantly, leading many students to AAPC certification. Mary Anne later pursued additional AAPC credentials and transitioned into healthcare compliance, combining her clinical, coding, and administrative expertise. She served as an HIM director before becoming a compliance director, where she could apply all aspects of her experience.

Recently, she announced her early retirement and plans to return to teaching part-time. Her advice to aspiring coders is to treat learning as a continuous journey, gain hands-on experience in roles like registration or pre-authorization, and understand that career growth takes time and persistence.