Medical Billing and Coding School Student Profile

Medical Coding School Student
Shoreline Community College – June 2005

My school had all the requirements, the coding classes, ICD-9, and that's what I was looking for. It took three years, because I hadn't been in school for a while and needed to catch up on English and math skills. They let me complete the program at a comfortable pace, and the more comfortable I felt, the more classes I took. I was in school full time, part in the coding program and part taking other prerequisites. My certifications are in medical reimbursement, coding in a physician's office and coding in a hospital setting.

The coding, which was like learning another language. I felt like an investigative reporter, going through someone's file and pulling out the information so that a physician's office can turn that in and get paid for services. It was fun to pull it apart and find the right code. If a patient had a fracture in the leg, we'd go to "fracture," then select what kind of fracture, the bone, the types of fracture, then find the right one. The coder looks all of this up in the ICD-9 book.

The medical terminology class was fun. But it was also hard and required a lot of memorization. During the first year I worked with a tutor from the advanced program, and she helped me build my foundation, so that when I went into the intermediate and advanced classes I knew what I was doing.

My advisor and the faculty were wonderful. Sometimes I'd have a bad day at school, and my advisor was really there for me. Then I'd be fine the next day. All the students teamed up, we'd study together, and when someone had a rough day we'd support them. If one person understood how to do something, they'd show someone else who was having difficulty.

My professors not only taught, but they worked in the field and devoted a lot of time to their students.

I tried, but that did not work for me. It works for some people. My family gave me a lot of support, and I was able to use worker retraining funds from the state, since I couldn't return to my old job.

I'm working in an ophthalmologist's office. My first day there, I knew what I was doing because I took that medical records class, that medical terminology class, so I was able to understand what was going on. The reimbursement class has come in very handy as well. I have to deal with insurers, ask how come they only paid this much on the claim, or why a claim was denied.

When the teachers said "pay attention to the details" they truly meant it. You have to make sure the numbers and the names are right, the codes are right. You have to understand why the insurer paid what they did. You have to pronounce and spell people's names right, and some names are difficult.

You have to be able to multitask, answer the phone, talk to a person in the office, check the forms. Sometimes there are emergency patients at the front desk, all three phones are ringing – things go at a very fast pace. You have to be outgoing and really like being with people. And through all that, you have to pay attention to the details and not let anything slip by you. An outgoing person does well.

Don't settle. Choose something that you know you're going to love to do. Do the research, find out how much opportunity there is for you in the field and make sure you really want to do it. I researched to see what was out there. My college offered a free information class where people can go in and ask questions before they enroll, and that was helpful. Take advantage of those possibilities; they can really help you find out what a program is like.