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Hello, AAPC members, it is Alex McKinley from the AAPC National Office. You may know me as AAPC. Alex from our social media channels. Hope everybody's doing well. Today, we have another great episode and interview for I am AAPC where we learn the stories of AAPC members and we have Letitia Jolly with us today. How are you, Leticia. Hi, Alexanio. I'm good. Thank you so much for being with us and we're excited to hear your story and you have that beautiful accent. And so we want to hear it all. So why don't you just tell us a little bit about yourself. Okay, so well, like you can talk from my accent, I was born in France and born and raised in France. I moved to Florida about like 12 years ago and I mean I came originally like to work like I was an administrative assistant which I liked and it was for French company based here in Florida. So I liked it for the time I worked there. I worked there for about about 10 years and it was great. It was very good. But then some time in life you need a career change, you need to like reorient yourself and do something different. So that's where the APC option came in for me because, you know, I wanted something different who's going to match my work skills and I look at a bench of options. I needed a certification, to be honest. Like, I have a degree from France, but here in America it doesn't work like that. So you need like an American degree or something similar to that. We're going to make yourself like jump up your career. So that's how I find a APC and started like the CPC course online

on my own. So. Well, Leticia, with this career change, what led you to medical coding and health care? Okay, so I wasn't in the medical field at all. I start from scratch. I am, healthcare. I mean, my mom is a nurse, so that's my only connection with health care at that point. And I really love biology. So when I was in school in France, that's something I like to do. And French language is based on the Latin language, which is also the same thing for medical terminology, which helped a lot, actually. So that's why I started. So I started with medical terminology, which helps a lot actually. So that's why I started. So I started with medical terminology and anatomy and probably with the course. So was it a simple Google search of careers? Like how, as you're trying to find and discover this new path for yourself. Yeah, I was trying, I was trying to find my path there. I mean, my background is in business administration. So I looked at a different option in like human resources, like, um, um, also different other things, but the fact that AEPC offered something you can do in less time of year, and it's not like something you need to go back to school to do it. You can do it online on you on. That makes all the difference for me. I was like, okay, I like the idea, I know nothing among the medical, the medical field, but I can learn and I really like learning that actually. Okay. So as you, you determined at some point medical coding is a path that I want to take

and then you're searching around and I guess you discovered AAPC through that search before you started any studies. Yes. And did you take the AAPC online course or is that what you did? Yeah, that's what I did. Okay. All right. At the time of my life, I wasn't even in the US because I had to move like from the person I live with now, my partner, I had an opportunity to go abroad and do like something for his career for years. So he said, well, you want to follow me? And at point of my life, I said, OK, I'm going to join you because I mean, I wasn't doing much. My career wasn't like taking the turn and I wanted to. And I said, let's go there. And then when I did my research, like to improve something and do something different in my career, I was abroad. So yeah. So were you in France when you first made this plan to switch into medical coding? Are you were in the US? No, I was in another country, but I wasn't in the US, but I wasn't in France. I was somewhere else, you know, I'm crazy. That's another story. Another story. Exactly. So you are in another country, I mean, you've popped around and then you set your path on this course and you're taking the CPC online course in another country, but you're fluent in English. So I guess how difficult was it for you not being an English native to grasp the course and understand the terminology and things? Well, like I said

the medical terminology like with the Latin roots really mean a lot. That was easy. That was really easily not being like I'm in English like my first language is like make it pretty okay because at that point I was I was learning in English so I didn't on any travel really like understanding the course or I'll going through the different steps so I knew it was like pretty pretty easy at that point. Okay all right and how long have you been into the career in in this industry for Leticia? Well I was my CPC in 2019, so, and I got my first job at the end of 2019. So, yeah, this is all new to you. So yeah, I'm a new species. I'm still a PCA, so yeah, this is right. Oh, wow. So you passed the exam. And how was that, was the exam tough? Did you feel like he had it under control? Okay, so I wasn't confident, although, like you can imagine, passing my exam for the first time. So from the country I was from, I was there at that time, I had to travel to another country to pass the exam because it was an awkward way I was. So I traveled to Germany where I ended up in a medical, it was a US military base like a medical hospital in military base in Germany. So you, because you're international or you were living overseas, you had to find a place in Europe to take the exam. Exactly. Wow, okay. So which was easy because everything is online on the APC website everything is there so I look for a place there and I find that I find it's on the EPC website it was easy. I scheduled on my CPC exam and traveled there which was a kind of a journey journey

like you can imagine. It was good. And then passing the test, it was stressful. It was long. Not easy because, you know, like you don't have any, like, try to go to the bathroom or do anything. It was like everybody knows. I think I got lucky in a way because it was really quite a journey there. The doctor was an amazing person because to enter that military base, I had to go through a specific gate, which I didn't know. And the doctor had to come around, pick me up, like go all over the place, and finally lead me to the to the exam room. So that was great or something. And then the test itself, it was exhausting. It was very long, but I don't think I had any trouble because I used the CPC on prep exam online as well. I did a lot of those tests and this gives a lot of good tips. You'll get tons of tips doing that. Like the Russian world give good tips, well, how to end all the question, where to look for answers. So that helped me a lot. The practice exams really, really gave you confidence for that. Yeah, because I mean, I looked online on the Facebook group, people like requesting recommendations and like training to help others like to guide people to know how to pass the exam. But really the practice exam make all the difference for me. All the answers were there and I knew exactly where to look for the answers are to manage manage the question, manage my time, and that helps a lot. Yeah. I think about how stressful that exam day must be all of these months of study and here you are and knowing that you're taking a very long rigorous exam

but you have this challenge of getting to the right place, getting onto a military base. Finding the exam site, that just only adds to that stress, I'm sure. Oh yeah, it was really stressful. I was like, you don't know what to do. I was almost thinking I'm not going to be there on time and, you know, be able to pass the abandon day, which I was there for. And like, yeah. So yeah, you, I guess, I don't know if we had the AP, my APC phone app at the time did did you get your results on your app then? Yes I got the results on the app yeah okay and that was a great day I'm sure oh yeah especially because I didn't get like I wasn't expecting to pass, to be honest. I finished like the exam, guessing like the last few questions. I didn't know if I would pass or not. I had no idea and yes, I had the results on the app and I make like my day of course. Yeah, oh, that is so great to hear. What a relief. Yeah, what a relief. Well, here you are in in Europe and you've passed the exam. So how do you step forward into your career at that point, Ratishio? So at that point, I had like a few months left overseas, so I traveled back to the US at the end of the year, and I was in October 2019. I had few ideas in mind how to start my career because I knew that we wanted the CPC exam in your pocket, you're not necessarily going somewhere without experience. So I needed to find a way to get experience and so my first thing was like to bring my resume that was like make my resume look good like focus on the medical aspect of it. Also show that I did all my CUs

like learned a lot, take a bunch of courses around it, like, and which I did. So I updated that. And then I post my resume and a bunch of places online, like all the jobs search engine website on also like 10 agencies which out. And my first thing to get a little bit experience was to use the project is external program from AAPC because I find I think it was like maybe two or three practices, medical practice in my area. So I picked one. The person received me and said, you can start like a week after and you tell me how long you want to do it. It doesn't matter. You don't have to be three months. It could be one month, and that's how I started. So the project extern is a great way to start and get experience. I know you're getting paid, but it's worth it for what it is because you really get something to put on your resume. You're building relationships and you're seeing how a coder operates in a facility and seeing how you apply the skills that you learned that you've studied for apply in real life. That's real exciting. Now, Leticia, are you still in Europe at this time? No, I mean, you were the, okay, you were, I mean, but at the time that you got this project X turn, it was, it was in the States. Yes, I was in the States. I was in Florence. Okay. All right. So you finally, you get here after this long journey

you sign up for AAPC's Project X-term program. You have mentors and these great people showing you the ropes and through the program. And tell us about that first job. How did you get that? The first job after the project system. Okay, so well it was a week before the end of my project external program, I got a phone call from a local temp agency. I just updated my resume on their website, I think, three days before that. And they contacted me for a coding position. So they asked me if I was available for an interview and I think that two days later I got an interview with them and the same day with the hospital I was supposed to be with. So yeah, that was really fast. I was surprised. And the fact that I had that short one month experience made all the difference. Did it? Yeah, at the interview, the person there was really like, she liked the fact like my, just got my CPC, I passed on my first trials, she really appreciated that. And she didn't mind like teaching me or like, you know, she said, as long as you want to learn and you, you were welcome because you have a little bit of experience, that's all I need. You want your CPC, so that's perfect. I am going to, you trained and you're going to start there. So that's why I started as a truj analyst for a local hospital. Okay, wow. That is so amazing to hear and to hear that one month with Project X-turn really went a long way in helping you secure that first job. And at the same time, I was also doing my practical online. And the practice code? The practical. Yeah

the practicum. Okay. So this helped me answer a bunch of coding questions she had for me as well because she said she needed somebody who knew about modifiers and I learned about modifiers not doing the exam but doing the practical so I was able to answer some of those questions because I knew from there you know so wow wow so all of all of these tools led and help you prepare for this first job. Yeah. And you started, you started this journey in another country and with English being your second language. Yes. But you stuck with it and you got that job. I love Laticia. You brought up a temp agency is what led you to that first employment. And we, you know, we see this, you see this question a lot in the Facebook group where people are wondering how do I get that first job? Yeah. And apply to a lot like a better resume like all the platform online you think not going to look at it. That's the way to do it because something important is like I apply for the position I got higher through the temper agency online on the hospital website. I didn't get through because of the all the robots and all the thing they use like to filters and things like to screen resumes online. So all the filters and everything because I did an enough experience of I got kicked out of the on the file because of that on the website on the website through the temper agency because I got the interview with them first and they screened me themselves, they knew I was a potential candidate and they sent me in the hospital and I got the position

which I didn't get on my own applying on the hospital website. We don't talk about that enough in the group. How temp agencies so helpful. So if you're watching this I hope you see the touches success with that. Yeah that's right and it doesn't matter when you're gonna get paid the first time I mean that gives you the experience you need to go higher later. So it's important. Yeah. All right. Well, are you still at that first job? No, I'm not. I'm not. I'm not because of COVID, basically. Not because I find me or didn't want me to say, no, it's another long story. So I'm going to try to make it short. Yes. I was, when it started, I was about to finish my contract with the temperature and see, it was a like, attempt to, how do you call that, like, them to be higher contract, to hire, yes. So my manager, she really wanted me to say, but she got like, cut off in a way because it was that time or where they were, they were telling people, you're going to be followed or you're not going to stay because the situation we cannot keep people and everything. So she said, I'm sorry, Leticia, I mean you to be patient because as soon as this is over and I can start hiring again. I want to offer you position and I really want to because she was up here with my hand and what I did there. So, I mean, I've been from charge analyze to the emergency department to be an ED coder. So I was in the in the ED department when the COVID started with patient around me, with doctors around me

with like nurses around me. That was a crazy situation. And so they asked us to go back in the office at that time because it was too crazy to stay where we were. She said, be patient. I want to for your position and I really meant it. So, and between, before she said that to me, somebody talked to me about a new company from New York who was like relocated down in Florida and said, you should look at that position because they are looking for quarters. So well, you know, I'm going to get hired. I don't really want to go somewhere else. I love my manager. I love the place I'm working right now and I don't want to change. But a person said, well, you should try anyway. I just go to the interview. It doesn't really hurt. You know, at this, it's experienced. I said, OK, I'm going to go to the interview. So I interviewed with it was like a crazy interview because people came from New York down to Florida to interview a bunch of people. It was like a hiring event for that company. It's like kind of big. And so I had three, two people in front of me and one over the zoom or Webx, whatever it was, and asking me question about what I learned, what I knew, and they needed quarters. So the interview went well. I didn't hear from them for about like, maybe a week or two, and then they contacted me back and they said we want to we want to offer your position. I said well I'm sorry I'm going to have to decline because I'm going to get hired where I am right now and I don't want to leave. So I declined that offer and my manager at that time to me like, well

well, I'm not going to be able to offer you anything anytime soon because the higher increase is still on and that's not going to end soon. So you just in case you're better to like you know look around just make sure you you have something for you that something to do and something stable because that was important. She knew I needed something stable so she didn't mind like helping me with that because I say, okay, I got that job interview. I, you know, I don't want to leave you, but because of the situation, I can contact them again and see they offer me something. So she said, yeah, I contact them and I'm going to give you a referral because she was very, very sweet and nice. So she gave me a referral for that position, which was required to have at least five ex-manager referrals. That was a big thing. So it wasn't easy for me to like find people who wanted to give me a referral and everything. So she did it for me. And at the same time, she said, I'm going to still try with my superior to like unlock the higher increase and give you something too because I wanted to stay. Yes. So, so I was in between. I had to, like, position available at that time. She, she finally came back with an offer by U.S. already too late because the other company, after I got through the old background check and referral and coding, I got a coding task to pass as well. Offered me like a very, very interesting position. So as a coding integrity specialist, so I'm doing auditing and for like

offshore people and was working for that company and that's where I am now. Okay, coding integrity specialists. Yeah, coding integrity specialists. Yeah, coding integrity specialists. And you're doing things other than, you're not a production coder anymore, it sounds like you're doing a lot of different things. Yes. Letitia, where do you see your career heading? Because we see many coders who start out, they start out as as production coders and some like or love it and they continue with that for the whole career. What direction do you see yourself going? Well, on my first, the first hospital I worked for, I have the opportunity to try a bunch of things. So I've been a charge of analysts, I've been in the ED as a quarter. I also worked denials, which that's the part I really liked. I like the most to be honest. Like that's what I really, really like there. And so if I have to choose, I will go like more through compliance with the files and stuff like that. I really like that aspect of coding. So that would be my way to go. Okay and at this point you you must be close to having your CPCA removed. You're the A. Yeah so I worked seven months at the first place and now I'm gonna reach a year at the first place. And now I'm gonna reach a year at the new position. I'm right there. I'm right there. I'm gonna ask my manager for later and actually hopefully I'm gonna have my remote. Oh

great. Now have you looked at this this tends to happen Lettiecia just a warning you'll find yourself looking at the APC website at those other credentials and thinking what's next. Have you done that? I did because I already scheduled my COC exam because you remember you had the free APC program? Yes, free AP promotion last year. You jumped into the COC program. I did, yeah. And I studied for the COC. So I didn't study those hard, like I did for the CTC, but I studied for the COC. And I already, first the examiner was in, yeah, end of January, I guess, yeah, end of January. So I'm still waiting for the result. Oh, no, I don't, I don't have it yet. I saw pass, but I didn't pass, I just, I, how do you said that? I didn't pass the exam, actually, I attend the exam, I didn't pass yet. So I'm waiting for a APC to give me my result because it was a little problem there. So I don't know what happened with the exam at that time. If I got a clinch in the system or something. you've spoken with our our customer support people and they're working on getting those results to you. They are. Right. Well, you. They have their name there. They're looking at it. So it's true. They want to give you the right results. So they are working on it. Okay. Well, I'm going to look into that too for you, let's see what we can find out. You bet. Well, that you're sitting on pins and needles just like when am I going to pass this exam? You know, you I know how badly you want to know your results. Yeah, exactly. So I don't know. I mean, the first, I, I

I, I, that was my second attempt. So my first thing, I was, I missed it for, I think I got 64%, which is not bad. No, pretty close. Pretty close. And second time, I finished right at one time, like three minutes before the end I was done I went through all the questions I am I am pretty sure I'm passed I passed but I don't know what happened we may be a piece here for that was something. Okay. Sounds like we're getting to the bottom of it and I'll look into that. Now, Letitia, I like to ask this as we conclude. What advice or what do you have to say to individuals who are considering a career as a medical coder or on the business side of health care? Well, I would say, what can I say to them? I said, go for it because that's something, if you like it, if you like biology, if you like medical, anatomy, medicalterminology, that's really something you can do. And if you are also a self-learner, that's pretty easy with all the tools they PC gave you. Like, everything is there. Just click on it. And, um, and I mean use all the tools everything you need is right there and right now I'm using the practical daily basis for work and that made all the difference too because yes you start with the books but as soon as you don't need the books anymore you can be like 100% online and use all the tools out there for the books or the coding. Is that codify? Yeah, codify. I'm using codify. Every day you've jumped. You no longer. I'm sure you still have your manuals, your code books nearby

but you've learned to rely on codify to find those codes even quicker. Mm-hmm. Codeify and e-books as well. Oh, wow. Wow. Well, awesome. What a great story. I'm so happy for you and what an inspiration you will be to many other international coders. There's probably someone in Europe or South America, who knows where, who are in the same place that you were a few years ago, not that long ago, which is incredible. It was really bare, so yeah. I mean, it doesn't mind if English is not your first language, that's like, if you're able to understand and you can read and you, like, it it's you can do it that's really something you can do so yeah wonderful and people are really open I mean like my team right now is like I would say 90% from people who don't have English other first language language. Wow. From everywhere. Like, yeah, not only like, I'm from France, somebody's from Colombia, somebody's from Jamaica, somebody else from another island, like, some other person is like from Czech, Czech, like Croatia. So it's like, you know, they're coming from all over the place and they all thought there is a great person and you know, great people. So how are you enjoying Florida? Oh, I love Florida. I didn't hear so long now. So yes, I love going anywhere. Do you attend your local chapter meetings? So they may be doing them virtually, I don't know, but yeah. They're doing it virtually. Actually, that's something I forget to mention. But when I first started my journey to look around and getting experience, I joined one of the local chapter conference

which was also a great, a good place to start and meet people in the field. So yeah, that's absolute as well. So. Great place and network, great place to learn. And fill that community family feel of APC. Exactly. So yeah, the local chapter is a great way to start as well. Yeah. Awesome. Well, Leticia, I like to have our guests and by saying one thing, if you would just in your own French accent way, say I am a PC. I am a PC. I am a PC. Beautiful. Thanks Latitia. All right. Well, you just, I'm excited to share your story. And thank you so much for joining us today. And we'll see you more in the Facebook group. Sure. I'll be nice if you you later. Thanks, Lettice.

Welcome to another edition of I am AAPC. Today I have with me of Beverly Johnson who Beverly I see you all over AAPC social media channels you're such a great ambassador to AAPC. How are you? I'm great. Thank you. Let's just start with a brief summary of where you're at now, where you're from and what you do. Okay, well, basically, a little bit about me is I am a lifelong learner. I am a total nerd. And I embrace it. I embrace being a nerd. I love reading and learning and I always have my nosing books. And I tell you what, whenever our coding books come out each year, I am like a kid at Christmas. I absolutely love it. What do you love about it? Oh, I just, I love the new books. I love books. And taking that plastic all up and up, smelling it. Yeah. That new books, I love books and taking that plastic off it up and smelling it. Yeah, but new book smell, I love it. Oh, that's awesome. Where are you from? Oh, I'm from Tennessee. I'm from, um, actually, mile in Tennessee, and I'm about 20 miles out of Jackson. So, or if you know where Nashville is, I'm about, about two and a half hours from Nashville. Okay. So, um, I love it here. I love it in West Tennessee. Okay. And who do you work for? I work for West Tennessee health care and I'm the compliance order there and I love what I do there and I owe it all to AAPC. Oh yeah, okay well I want to hear about this journey. Beverly, how long have you been, let's start with this

how long have you been in the industry starting with your medical coding or maybe it was something even prior to that? I've actually been in the health care industry for 30 years, I started right out of high school as a medical transcriptionist. And I did that for about 20 years and about half of that time I worked at home. And I got to the point where I was going was going to stay and you know and I crave learning I crave doing new things and I needed to be around people because I was home all day every day and so I took a job as a receptionist at a local clinic and I was actually introduced into coding fair and I fell in love with it. I ended up transferring to another department and it was hospital charges and I got to code all day long loved it and the more I got in there and and learned I just I had to keep I had to keep going I got my CPC in 2015 and as I got in there and started doing different specialties and found out I love EMs. I love auditing. Wow. So 2017 I studied and I got my CPA. And as I got into that, and the more I did, the more I thought, I love all these laws. I love the regulations. I just, I love it. And so I got my CPC-O in 2018. And I mean, it's just, it's been a constant thing. A-A-P-C, they offer so much. And it doesn't matter where you're at, but you can keep going. Right now, of course, in the job I do now

I get to audit facility and position billing. I'm loving learning all about the facility billing and coding and that side of things because that's you know that's a different world that's a beast all in itself and I'm actually thinking about going for my CIC. Oh wow. So I'm real excited there's just a lot of good things coming up. Well, when you started talking about your journey, you're talking about being a receptionist, and you had the opportunity to peek into coding a little bit, and you said you just knew you loved it. Why? When that door opened, what appealed to you about medical coding? It was like getting to put together a puzzle. It was like a big puzzle every day. You get to pull stuff from here, pull it from here, pull it from here. And it all comes together and makes this story and it's an amazing journey on each chart you do. It's great and you learn you learn so much. Now when when that door opened and you discovered medical coding, it sounds like you found your first medical coding job before being certified. Is that correct? Yes. Yes, I had a wonderful boss and she was actually a coder And she had encouraged me to get into that aspect of it. And I did. And I loved it. And it was one of the best moves of my career was taking that step. Why, at that point, why did you choose to be certified when you already have a position? It seems like you're happy. What led to that? I did it for me. I did it for me. It's my personal accomplishment. And each certification, you know, that I go for and I get

I do it for me. Because it makes me feel good and makes me feel like I accomplish something. And I love that feeling. Yes, yes. Well, I love that that you're looking to fill and set up parameters for success for yourself. But I think there may be some viewers who are like, well, do these additional certifications or being certified at all help me progress in my career? Do I earn more money when I receive these certifications? And did these additional certifications open the door to like your current job and compliance tell us about all of that. Yes, it does. Once I got my my CPMA and my CPCO, I got to think and I'm like, okay, I've got these credentials now. I love doing this. I'm fixing to look for something in compliance, in a compliance department. And definitely those, having those certifications made a difference. It made a huge difference because the potential employer, they know that you went the extra mile and you worked your tail off and you know and accomplished this and I mean it really it helps them know that you're not, you're not a quitter. You're not going to quit. You're going to keep going and persevere. Now, did do or did these skills that you pick up in your CPMA education and compliance education? Did those skill sets transfer to the job or is it still on the job training where you're still, I'm sure there's some of that, but was it, was it helpful to get you there? It was helpful to get me there. Of course, I already had, I had these credentials, all these, you know

you know, these years of doing this. Yeah. Before I got this job I'm in now. Okay. I never would have got this job without those certifications. Okay. I mean, I can guarantee it. I never would have got it. Okay. Now, when you're working as a new coder, you're working, you're loving it. And at a point, you decide to be certified. But how did you learn about certification and AAPC? Well, actually I learned about it through my boss at the clinic. And she was a CPC and that's basically how I was introduced into it. And what I did to prepare, of course, at that time, I didn't know anything about any kind of courses that you can take. And so I just, I bought the study guide and bought the three practice exams. And that's basically all I did. I did that study guide, I did those practice exams over and over and over and read my books. I read my coding books and anyway I took my test and passed. Well, and that and passed. Well, you know how difficult the exam can be and how we see in the group in the AP Facebook group the challenges that people face and not everybody passes it on the first try. Was it stressful for you? What was that exam experience like? Oh my word. The CPC exam was I would never want to take it again. It was very hard. I had to actually had to travel five hours to take my test. Wow. And it took almost the full, at that time it was five hours and 40 minutes. And it took almost right at the five hours and 40 minutes for me to do it. Wow. When I got done and my husband, he had come to

he was going to pick me up. I walked out of the building and I couldn't even talk. I couldn't even talk. He started talking to me and I'm like, I can't talk. Leave me alone. I know. And then he tried to feed me after and I couldn't hardly even hold my fork. It was awful. But tell you what, that accomplishment though, when you get that pass, there's not a feeling like it in this world. And you mentioned the curriculum and things you did to help you prepare. Are there any specific tips that you'd give to a student preparing for the exam? Any secrets? We need to know your secrets, Beverly. Secrets? Top secret. Get those practice exams. Those practice exams are, to me, they're key. They're key to that exam. I'll tell you this. On all of my exams, I bought all the practice tests, did them over and over and over, passed. The one time I did not get my exams, I failed. So I went back, boughtthose exams, studied them, passed it. So I recommend anybody, no matter what you do, get those practice exams. Yes, yes, and that's something we say a lot. And even when you have the practice exams, be proficient with them. Many people say the practice exams are harder than the real exams. And I talked to our chief product officer, Ray Marie Jimenez, about that. She says that is a myth. And she thinks that it feels harder because it's your first experience with it. So when you go into the real exam, it's easier. So well, that's amazing to hear. And so you received your CPMA and what is the compliance certification called? CPCO. You received those

you received your CPCO before actually working in compliance then? Yes. Yes. Okay. What other types of rules have you had in the business of health care? So you're, we've got the bookends. We've got you started as a coder and now you're in compliance. Anything in between? Really? No. I mean, it's basically being, of course, you know, when I was a receptionist, you have many hats in that area. But basically, it's been, you know, coding and auditing and, of course, you know, starting out with medical transcription, which honestly was a really big help because I had all the medical terminology, you know, in my background. That's, I mean, you know, that's basically the sum of it. Okay. Okay. And now I get to actually get to do some provider coder education that I really love doing that with onboarding physicians at the organization I work for. I'm a TA with the VILP program. Now let's let's talk about that real quick. So to kind of kick that off one and I mentioned this as we started this interview, the Beverly you love helping others. I see you all over our social media communities and you're such a great ambassador to the the two future medical coders and those and veterans as well. Why? What leads you and inspires you to want to be that resource? I love helping people. I love helping people. And if, well, we'll talk about being, okay, like the TA, you know, working with the students. That's teachers assistant with our training programs. Yes, yes. You know, we get to do a lot of like one-on-one sessions with them, like, you know

you know, tutoring sessions and during those sessions you can actually see when light bulbs go off. And you know it makes you feel so good because you're helping them and you're making them feel good. They feel good about themselves and they feel accomplished. And one of the most rewarding things is they get through this course. You know, they struggle. It's a hard course, it really is, and it's a fast-paced course. So they work really hard and they struggle and, you know, and you have to give them a lot of encouragement. Just like, like we need encouragement. Given that encouragement, I just love helping them. And whenever they send me a message, like an email after they take their certification exam, they say they passed. You know, that's just, I'm so proud of them because, you know, we're all adult learners and it's hard being an adult learner because you have careers, you have family, you have all these obligations, but you're sticking to it, you're taking these courses, you're studying, you're passing, you're sticking to it you're taking these courses you're studying you're passing you're getting your certification that's huge yes that's huge I'm proud of them I'm just so proud of it I love helping me all right and now in addition to your day job and you are teachers assistant with our VILT program, which is virtual instructor-led training, is that right? Yes, sir. And how did you find that position? How did that happen for you to work with ATC? That was amazing. I actually

and I want to say what the importance is of networking. Networking is, we all need to do it. But I went to, well, it was the health con, DC health con, the virtual, and Craig Larson, he had reached out to me. Craig works for APC. Yes, yes, he is wonderful, wonderful, and he actually got me on the right track to do that. And so during that conference, I got my, I sent in an application to become a TA, got that done. And I actually, I thought, I want to be an instructor. And so I signed up for the instructor course and did that this past summer past it. So now I'm an improved instructor. What's CPCI? Is that right? No, now I've got the CPMAI. Okay, all right. Yeah. And so anyway, so I'm really excited about that and for the future, I would love to one day be able to be a built instructor because I see the difference they make and how they encourage their students, how they encourage their TAs. I mean it's, I've been blessed to work with Miss Jackie, Jackie Cupros. Oh yes, yes, a former NAB president. Oh, she's wonderful. And as a matter of fact, I met her at my very first conference. I went to regionals in South Carolina. It was Charleston, South Carolina. Yes. And they had this fast-paced, it was like a speed auditing class. And I got to meet her and she was so amazing and she just really impressed me and it was just it was great and I got to meet Mr. Bevin at that one our president Simeo. Yeah, he was so amazing. Oh, he was wonderful. We were all sitting at a table and he just comes in, sat down with us, that was a group of us ladies

and just basically talking like us, you know, and he's so down to earth. And he really, he wants to know what the members want. And, you know, he was asking his questions about what we thought of the conference, and it was wonderful. And he wanted to know kind of what we thought toward future conferences, any ideas. And so it was, that's two things that really stood out to me. You know, like I said, that was my first conference, my first time to ever travel by myself. And it was, it was amazing. I mean, so many friends. Oh, that's wonderful.that's wonderful. And I definitely want to tell anybody, if you have a chance to go to conference, go. Because it can be life-altering. Yes, we have, just for our viewers who may not be familiar with APC conferences. We have a national conference in the spring of each year. This year in 2023, it will be in May in Nashville, Tennessee, so right in your neck of the woods, Beverly. And then we will be having our regional. We sometimes have two regionals, the past few years, one due to the pandemic, but we will be in Washington, D.C. in August. So looking forward to both of those. And Beverly, you just talk about networking and really the AAPC community. That's what makes AAPC great as our members and that ability to connect. Even students, we talk, I've met many students who have found their first employer from networking in the Facebook group or at their local chapter meetings. All of those are valuable resources for our members. Yes. Now, Beverly

Beverly, having spoken with many students and seeing their challenges and roadblocks, what advice, oh, actually, let's do this, what's the most common challenge that you may see with students. Is there something that comes up frequently? They feel overwhelmed, especially at the start. They, because it's a lot to learn. And I always tell them, you know, take one day at a time, you know, and it gets easier. And if they see that, they see that as they progress, you know, each week. You can see the confidence start growing. But that's one of the main things is they're just, the feeling of being overwhelmed. It's a lot of new information. Yes. Yes. You're learning a new language,. Yes, you are. You are. And but that's one of the main things and one good thing about being a TA is you get to encourage them and you know let them know hey it's going to be okay. We you know we all go through it. We've all been there. And, um, you know, it helps encouraging them and letting them know that that's normal. That's a normal feeling. Yes, yes, awesome. That's great to hear. Thank you for sharing that. Now, let's talk about Beverly outside of work. I know that's tough because you're so passionate about what you do and I'm sure you think about it a lot. But I see what you cannot help but not notice the grogoo behind you. Are you a sci-fi and a sci-fi kind of fan? I love all of that. I love all of it. I love a little baby Yoda. It keeps me company while I'm in the office. But no, I love movies. I love all kinds of movies. True crime, horror, you know

you know, I love it all. But I guess, I don't know what my favorite would be. I just, I really like it all. Now, you mentioned movies. Are you a big movie theater fan or do you like because it seems to be drifting away from that or do you like to just download and watch from the comfort over your own home or get that big box of popcorn at the theater and hang out there? I love going to the theater and getting my popcorn and my drink and having the, you know, the atmosphere. I love the atmosphere. Yes. I just, you can't beat that, especially if you're watching a scary movie. You can't beat it. That's right. That's right. Well, that's awesome. Well, Beverly, do you have any final words or thoughts for potential code or someone who's looking to come into this industry? What kind of encouragement would you give to them? Go for it. Once you get in there and you get that core credential, you get that CPC, the sky is the limit. You can branch out into so many different areas. But you get that, no, I tell them, go for it. Go for it. Get that CPC. And who knows what road it's going to take you down. Yes. Many roads, many roads to choose from. Well

and you're a great example of that. We see that with so many members who start out with their CPC. And that was the pinnacle at that time without realizing there's compliance like yourself. There's auditing. There's education where many coders become educators and educate physicians in hospital or facility staff. So so many and there are many more possibilities beyond that even. There are. So you just you kind of take that first step with your CPC and then you start you can start exploring from there. And there's nothing wrong with, and there are many coders who prefer to be coders, and they love it, they love what they do. They're in that world, and they are good. Oh, that's right. That's right. And, you know, had I not taken that step toward the auditing realm and the compliance realm, you know, I might have stayed right there, but you have so many different options. There's so much out there. And once you get out there and you get to, you know, try and coding in these different areas, you're going to find that you're going to love some, you're going to love one of them more than the other. Yeah. You know, nine times out of ten, you're going to find one that you like more. Yeah. And you can get that credential. I love it, yeah. Well, before we wrap up then, Beverly's, what's next for you? Do you have another credential on your mind or maybe a path that you would like? Probably this year I'm going to go for the CIC, the inpatient coding. Okay. But I do have some good news. What's that? I got

I'm going to be able to serve on the AAPC Chapter Association Board of Directors. Oh, wonderful. Congratulations. Yes, I'm so excited about that. And I've got Region 4. And I am looking forward to working with all the chapters and in helping and just, I'm so excited. Well, hey, Beverly, that means that you and I will get to work together more. So that's great. And just for our viewers who don't know what that is, APC has a network of local chapters over, I think between 4 and 500, and they are all over the country. There are actually chapters around the world as well. And they operate under the AAPC chapter association. So the AAPCCCA. And we have a board of directors. And Beverly was just appointed a role to that. So tell us about that. How did you get that role? Did you nominate? You just threw your name in the hat and went through the interview process? I had, of course, I was an officer, you know, last year. Local chapter officer. Yes, yes, a local chapter officer. And they had sent out emails, you know, encouraging people that, you know, if you feel like this is, you know, something that you're interested in or something you would like, you know, apply. And I was like, that would be wonderful. It would be so rewarding to be able to be there and give back. Give back to an organization that has given me basically everything. I mean

I was real excited. And I actually talked to Miss Jackie and she was encouraging and Miss Jackie's wonderful. She is great. But you know the rest is history. All right. Well we look forward to yeah. We'll see you conferences on a regular basis for the next few years and we will see you on AAPC social hour and many other places I'm sure. I'm excited. All right. Well, thank you for your willingness to serve. Beverly, thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. For those who are watching, you may be watching on our YouTube channel. You can also listen to Beverly, share her story on the AAPC podcast. You can find that in your favorite podcast app by searching for the AAPC podcast. And Beverly, I appreciate you so much. You have a great day. Thank you. Bye bye.

Hello, welcome to another edition of I am AAPC. I am Alex McKinley from the National Office and today we have Laura Smith with us. Laura, how are you? Hi, I'm good. Thank you. Good. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you much for volunteering yourself, Laura, to share your story with us. I put out a call to our membership to share their story and experience with us. And you were a stay at home mom and looking for a career. Laura, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're from, what kind of work you'd done previously and how you ended up in the revenue cycle side of health care. Yes, thank you for sharing my story too. But yes, I had little kids at home. I ended up having four children and I was at home with them for years. And when they were little, I kept thinking, you know, one of these days they're going to grow up and they're going to leave me and I need to have some skills for myself. So I looked into taking a class at home and there was some classes that I took and it took me, it took me only like six months or something to take it and then later on as they were growing up I had an opportunity to get my foot in the door in a office, a neurology office, and I got some experience there. A friend from church was the one that referred me to the job. And then later I followed her to another ophthalmology office and I learned to love coding and so I kind of transformed into a from a surgery benefits coordinator into a medical billing and surgery billing and coding specialists. Wow, wow, I want to back this up

Laura. So there are I have a lot of questions for you. So you're a stay-at-home mom and you're seeking a career. What led you to medical coding exactly? Just, like I said, I wanted to find some skills for myself so that once I did enter the work field again, that I would have, you know, something to offer, something to do and possibly work from home, something like that in mind. Well, did you have a friend who work in the industry or did you just search on the internet and think maybe this would work for me? I'll check it out. Time, it was just something that I just kind of searched for on my own and, you kind of heard about that it was an up and coming thing and I heard about the APC, AAPC back then too and some of the things that were going on in the classes that were starting and stuff but yeah. Okay so you're just priming the pump trying to prepare yourself. Or that, I mean, you're like, my kids are getting, aren't getting any younger. And I need to prepare myself. So you took the course, did you take the exam right after you took the course? Oh, well, this wasn't, this first class I took wasn't through the AAPC. Oh, okay. This one prepared me for, for the jobs entering the workforce. And then later, I was, I've had like 10 years of experience in the, in medical billing and coding. And I got laid off due to COVID and that's when I had the opportunity to take the time for myself to get my CPC through the AAPC. Okay so you prior to being AAP certified you had some medical encoding experience. Yes. Okay

so this just kind of has helped you further your career, I guess, further establish your, who you are as a medical coder. Right. Right. Okay. All right. All right. And so now I'm stumped, Laura, because like you had you had all of this experience. Like how many years of experience did you have prior to being certified? Um, well, like I said, about 10 years experience in the medical billing field, but only about six to eight actually medical coding experience. COVID happens. I'm noticing this a lot, this, that COVID has either set people on a path to finally get certified or they are in a completely different career field and jumped into medical coding because of COVID. So here you are, you finally have this because of the layoff and get certified. And what was that process like? Did you sign up for our education and tutorials prior to taking the exam? I actually found out about some funding to work one because I was on unemployment and which led me to the instructor that I had, Lois Wittaker, and she helped me get everything to go through and that's how I got my funding and got it paid for. Everything went through great. It was a great experience. And how valuable was all of your previous work history in preparing you for the exam? Did you feel like you had to hit the books hard? I don't know if you took practice exams and did you tell us about that? I didn't try to take any practice exams. There's still a lot. I felt like that I learned in the class and there was, you know, the guidelines and everything is it was, you know

you know, it was like I couldn't go over it enough, but I don't know. I'm obsessed with coding, so it's just like one of those things that I just, I just, you know, I felt like I didn't know enough. I was still nervous on the day they took my exam, but like I said, I had a great instructor. Yeah, so at this point, we probably had the CP exam available online. Did you take it in person then? Yes, I did. Okay. All right. And what was that experience like, you know, it's five hours, 40 minutes? Did you feel like you had enough time? Like, where you stressed out of your minds? Tell us about exam day, Laura. What would you have done differently, even? I probably would have, I probably still would have looked, I would have studied a little bit more the day before because I was a little nervous that I took. I did take advice from people. They told me to take a day off before the exam and not to, you know, look at anything or whatever. But, um, the day of the test, it was at a hotel and ended up only being two of us that took the test on that day. And it was very quiet, no stress. I mean, it was just, we could, I don't know if I should say this, but we could get up and go to the bathroom if we needed to. It was no problem. We just, you know, you couldn't have your cell phone, you couldn't do anything like that. And the time that that was definitely a factor, you know, you definitely have to skip the hard questions and wait to the end. So you get it through the tests. Okay

so that's a great tip for those who are preparing for the exam. Any other tips for for those studying for the exam? What would you say to them? Um, definitely the tabbing your books and the studying the guidelines. I watched videos and the checklist that the AAPC puts on the website before the test to make sure that you have everything. I went over that like, I don't know, three or four times, make sure I had everything and down to the quiet snacks. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're all mapped out. You knew exactly what you're doing. Oh, funny. Well, so the, you had this time to take the exam, you passed the exam, and are you currently seeking employment as a coder? Are you currently employed? No, I am currently taking offers. Okay, all right. Just so the world knows Laura Smith is ready is ready for you. Yes. Where are you located Laura? It's great. Can be Indiana. Okay. All right. And have you had a chance to connect with your medical coding community through the local chapter there? are you looking for something remote? I am looking for something remote but I have not went to any of the chapter meetings is that what you're saying? Yeah, yeah. I don't have any of those yet but I am looking to connect with them and I've had a couple offers but I'm probably going to have to decide something really soon so yeah and I may not be able to get the job that I want right now but I'm gonna get there because I'm gonna get more experience to get me what I want. Yeah, so it's not that offers haven't come in because you've had them come in. Well, yeah

yeah, but I can't take a job making $15 an hour. Yeah, yes, yes. Yeah. So there you've got you have expectations and parameters that you're working with. All right, all right. And you're not new to this. So, you know, you kind of expect to make a little bit more. Yes. Okay, all right. That's fair enough. All right. Well, that's cool. That's awesome. And I don't know. I mean, you have so much experience and now you're certified. I'm sure that doors will open up. Yeah, I'm sure you're doing this, but this continued to network. That's what we always say is, you know, reach out to your local chapters. And you're not limited to your own local chapter these days because because of COVID, the virtual world has opened that up a little bit more. Yeah, I love the websites and the groups on Facebook and stuff. I've been using those and I've I've probably applied for like 60 jobs and I've gotten a lot of those from Indeed and on there that you know that I found out about the opening so okay that's been very helpful. Okay we might need to do a part to to your interview where you ended up. Now, Laura, having worked so many years in the industry medical coding and billing already, are there so many different paths you could take? Are there, is there a path that you think, hey, maybe I might be interested in being an educator or compliance manager or something else? I wouldn't mind me in the education field or the auditing. I like both of those. Okay, all right. Now you said you're addicted to coding. I think you used that word. I am. I love, I love the

just everything, but I love learning it. I just, it, I could sit here and research something all day. I feel like an investigator when you, when you're doing this job. Okay. So, uh, you're a problem solver. Yes. Yes. But in the pieces of the puzzle of the puzzle together. All right. Well, Laura, thanks for sharing your story with us. So for just kind of going back to those who may be watching this looking for inspiration, what would you say to someone who may be exploring the possibilities of working as a medical coder? And you're in a unique position, you having worked for a long time, but currently seeking the right fit for you. What would you say someone who's seeking this as a possible career path? I would say go for it, especially right now. It seems like the doors are opening all over. You may not be like, I mean the one that you want right now, but you to build up to that and just take little steps because you're getting experience along the way. I mean, every little thing, whether it's here and getting some experience with the facility billing or a hospital or, you know, an outpatient center or a specialty, you know, I think every little thing helps. It makes you stick out. Yeah, especially helps on all those assessments you have to take when you fill out application. Noted. All right. Listen to Laura. Yeah. Very good., Laura. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story. And we look forward to hearing about where you end up. Maybe we can just grab you for after you get work

ping me. And then we'll do a little follow up in the Facebook group so everybody can hear where you end up working. So all right. Well, okay, we are back with Laura and we are doing something unusual but we like our I am a PC interviews and a happy note. And while Laura had worked, has worked as a coder for many years. If you recall, she was looking for the right job. It wasn't that she wasn't getting up or she wasn't getting the right offer. So Laura, you're back with some good news. Tell us about what has happened since we last spoke a few weeks ago. Yes, I ended up interviewing with a great company called Ensemble and I got hired on and so I'm actually in my second week. I had a full week of training and it was mainly orientation I guess about the whole company, and which awesome, they're really great with investing in their employees. And then I just now started into actually training for my job, which I'm actually in AR right now, but hopefully I'll be moving around a little bit in the future and definitely excited about it. All right well that's great to hear great news and I'm sure a relief for you to find that right job. Yes. Awesome. Well, that's good to hear. Well, thanks for sharing that with us. And remind me, Laura, where are you located out of? I live in Indiana. Okay. And is this company local to your city? No, actually they're in South Carolina. Okay, all right. So this is a remote position. Yeah, all right. Okay

well great work. We just wanted everybody to get this current update on Laura and it's great to see that things have worked out in your favor and you were persistent, aren't you? Yes, I did a lot of homework on companies and I was trying to find the right one for me and one that I wanted to stay with for a while and that was known for being good and investing in their employees. So they're really, they have a lot of training and the next step is the CRCR. So that's something, that's my next goal. Okay. All right, well congratulations Laura, thanks for the update. Thank you. All right.

Hi, welcome back to I am a PC. I'm Heather Johnson. I'm here with Lisa Wilson. Lisa, thank you so much for joining us today. Oh, my pleasure. Where are you joining us from? Right now, I'm in Michigan. I'm actually here just for a couple of weeks my mother had surgery so I'm able to move and work from here. In fact I'm on my lunch break so it works out really well but I'm I live now in Missouri outside of St. Louis. Okay are you you from Missouri? No, my husband is. We moved to his hometown, but I am actually an army brat. So for about the first nine years of my life I was all over the world. I was actually born in Germany. Oh, cool. Just because of my dad being in the service. And but then went back to Michigan where my parents are from. And so then rest of elementary and high school and all that, I was there in Michigan. And then I, I guess because so young I had the travel bug, I've lived different locations myself. So I've lived in Connecticut. I was actually a nanny for a year and did that. And then I moved to Arizona. I've lived a couple of different areas in Arizona. Then I got married while I was there. And my husband got a job in California. So we lived in California for a while. His job, we got relocated to the Denver area, lived there for quite a few years. And then we ended up moving back to his hometown. So about five years ago, we moved to Missouri, so that's where I'm in. Very well traveled. I thought I'd lived several places, but you put me to shame. Okay, so you live in Missouri. Do you, you're married? Do you have any pets

kids? Yep, no kids. We were not blessed in that way, but we do have three cats. So three cats. Yeah, they're all rescues. We got one that was blind, one that had a stroke about a year ago, one that had a thyroid issue that had to be taken care of, but they're all doing good now. And so, yeah, I have a rescue pup, so I've always, I love that. Yeah, we got the two older ones, the one that had the stroke and the one with the thyroid, they're like 15 and 16 years old, and we got them from Humane Society in Denver. And then the other one is only a two-year-old and we got her when she was about four months. She was being fostered. She was found in a ditch and had like a conjunctivitis and lost her vision and so we adopted her and she's been with us. She she's a yeah she's a trip. Oh wow your estate I bet they keep you busy oh yeah yeah I feel like there must be something with like coders being cat people like I think they're pet people leaning leaning hard tow cats. I feel like whenever that people are like posting photos. I'm always like, I'm going to be cats. Yeah. Um, okay, can we talk about your professional life? Second, you said you mentioned that you can work from right now. You're out of state. So you work from home. What do you do? I'm a coder for the facility side surgery centers. So we have about, what is there, like 17 or 18 surgery centers in the Denver area and one in Wichita. And I'm part of a, we're part of a hospital system

HCA. And so HCA is like all over the place. But I started working there back in 2011 and I started in patient collections. And I did that and then an opening came for billing. And so then I did billing for about five years. And then part way through the billing, I had, before I had started there, I had gotten an associate's degree in medical billing and coding. And I actually did some cold calling for a job and ended up working at a billing company where they, you know, took in outside billing. And so I did that. And then due to layoffs, because I was the last one hired, I ended up getting a job with HCA Health One, and like I said, in patient collections. And so I, I you know tried to move my way around which is I think a good way to go because my billing experience is being utilized to this day. We have our department has what 10 coders and we have four billers. And when I started back in 2011, we had seven surgery centers. Oh, wow. We need three coders and two billers. And we're now, I want to say, it's like 18 centers. And we have, I think, three more that are going to be opening this year. Oh my. So it's multi-discipline. We do a lot. We have like the endoscopy centers. We do a lot of colonoscopy, you know, all that stuff. And we have several. I code for one of the two urology centers, which is why I got my urology certification. I thought that would be very helpful. So I code for them. I code for two specific ones, one that's a multi-discipline one. I never know from day to day what I'm going to be coding today. It's been cataracts

hernia, tonsilectomies. The urology stuff actually was a lot. I did urolifts. I don't know if you're familiar with that. Neurostems. They do a lot of that neurology, cystoscopies, just, and yeah. Do you like, it sounds like there's like a lot of variety. Do you like that? Yeah, it's so nice. I mean, it's nice to know from day to day, these are the two centers that I work on, but anytime somebody needs help or somebody is out, then we all kind of cross cover. So I'll go through and code GI stuff, you know, when it's needed. When somebody needs help pulling path reports to code, then I do that. And I'm extremely, extremely, extremely lucky where I work. We have an awesome team. I mean, I count myself just, yeah, I just, I've seen, you know, comments from people like on Facebook and stuff and they talk about a job. I mean, and it's weird my whole team feels that way. We have such, we work for such a great company. Our leadership is awesome. I mean, we all pull together and work, you know, when somebody's out and needs something, everybody's always willing to help. And back to the billing part, because of of my experience in billing I often help out with billing. So if they're short or like end of month gets crazy because we're trying to close out thousands upon thousands of cases that I'll often you know okay when I get done my coding, I help out and help with billing. So it works, I mean, very well, and I don't mind doing that. I, you know, they always know that say, hey, you know, Lisa, can you help cover sure or whatever, you know, so it, yeah

yeah, I just. Sounds like you stay very busy, but you are, yesed like across multi disciplines, which is really cool. Can you brag a little and tell us about your credentials? Well, I have a few. Yeah, of course, start out with the CPC. And then I've initially got my first specialty certification, the orthopedic one, because I wanted to know more on coding those because I struggled with coding certain orthopedic because we do a lot of knees, we do total knees, we do, I mean a lot of orthopedic stuff, shoulders, ankles, feet, hands. I mean, um, so I just, it took me a long time to code those and I wanted more knowledge. So I thought, why not immerse myself in that? And so that's why I decided to go get my orthopedic. And then, um, while coding for the urology center, I would like to know more about that as well. So then I decided to get my CUC. And then I was talking to my manager during my yearly evaluation and I had mentioned that I wanted to get the ambulatory surgery certification as well because that's what I do. I'm, you know, ambulatory surgery coder and I thought that would be, you know, something that I would like to have to show, you know, and I was very pleasantly surprised when going through the tests that I knew a lot of it just because we do such a wide variety of procedures. So that was, but I found it helpful and, you know, I think it shows to my, you know, the management of where I work that I'm interested in learning, that I want to better myself

and I gained a lot of knowledge with each certification. Yeah. So with the practice stuff, it just, you know, gave me a lot more knowledge, which is one thing that I really like is learning about how, you know, how to code these specific procedures. And my, yeah, my management, my supervisor and manager, they're just very appreciative. They've reached out to me for especially the urology, you know, questions like, hey, have you seen this? What, How do you code it if you see that? Because there's certain things that we have to know, like one of the things I had today was an audit because somebody else had coded a procedure that the LCDs were not met. And so it was denied. And I thought I knew exactly what it was and it was, and so I was able to remedy that. You're the expert they bring in. Kind of, yeah, I mean, if they have, there's two, two urology centers. I've coded both. And so, yeah, they have reached out to me. They could reach out to the other person too, I don't know. But we all pretty much work remote now. There's one that sometimes goes into the office, but I kind of led the precedent of being in another state. I was the first one to move out of state. And then after that, they hired a coder that lives in Tucson. He's been with us, I want to say five or six years. But you moved out of state and they were like, oh, you are still doing a good job. We now can expand. Yeah, it kind of set, yeah

yeah, set a precedent saying that this works. That's awesome. We can do that. So another one of my fellow coders actually moved to Missouri too. She lives about two and a half hours from me. We have, because where we're located basically is the Denver area, but there's a couple others that live out like Grand Junction. One of our billers now lives in New Mexico. So the billing part now because they've discovered that it still works. Right. We're able to do our jobs just great. Yeah, I feel like COVID while it was horrendous and heartbreaking in so many ways, it really opened up like a lot of industries recognizing that remote work is possible and then it can better match people for roles, right? Like you don't have to be local to Denver, like, you know what I mean? And I think that's really cool, especially when it comes to billing and coding, like, if you can work remote, then you can better be, you can be better matched to like the specialty that you are an expert in. And I think that's really cool. Yeah, yeah, it's, yeah, I mean, it actually timed perfect because at the time we were moving, they had, we outgrew the building that we're in. And so they decided to, I mean, I just want to say, I think a few months before we were moving to Missouri, they decided to do this. And I was able to, you know

you know, stay on and work. Because at that time I was working as kind of a three quarter time biller with the other quarter time coder because I've had my original CPC from 2012 and I didn't move until 2016. So I was doing both at that time. And so once I moved in 2016 I became a full-time coder. So can I ask you about the exams? A lot of people I think are really, and please tell me about your experience. I think a lot of, especially new coders are intimidated by exams. And so it's nice to hear veterans like you share, is it as scary? What can you do to prepare? You know, like now that you've done it a couple of times, what advice do you have for future examinies? And of course, sharing any experience you had? Yeah, it was very scary. Actually, well, the first time, you know, when I did it, because with the CPC, you have, it covers so much. Yeah. And I'm still no good at E&M coding. I just, that's one thing I struggle with. But I don't do it. So we don't do anything with the E&M with the facility coding. So that's why I don't really know much about that. But yeah, it's very daunting. And, but the one thing that I think really really helped me was doing the practice exams. Okay. Because it kind of gives you a feel for it and so I would like okay I have this many I need to get it done in this amount of time so it kind of equaled you know the fraction of how much the big test, which, you know, at the time was what, over five hours. Yeah. But, um, so that I

so that I, I think I did it for each one of my certifications. I did the practice exams. I had the study guides. I mean, I think that was very helpful. Um, and then, you know, know, because when I did the CPC, I had, you know, I didn't know what kind of coding I was going to really be doing. I didn't know if I was still going to be able to be, you know, coding there or if I'd have to go find another job. So, but in fact, one of my husband's co-workers, she talked to me and has been interested in doing it and I kind of helped her along the process of getting her CPC and she just got that a couple months ago. And yeah, so it's, I mean, and it's, I love it. I mean, it took me a long time to get to this point for having a career because I didn't start doing this until I was in my 40s. But now I love it, I look at it as a, kind of like a puzzle. I'm trying to solve a puzzle. And some of these, you know, cases that come through like some of the eye procedures, you can do like five different procedures in the eye or shoulders are very difficult or, you know, knees, whatever, some of these I can have like five or six and I have like five or six pages of op report that I got to read through and try to figure out. And I'm extremely lucky that if it's something's like, I'm just not sure

I can send it to my manager and what do you think you know how you know does this look right and it usually comes out that yep looks good and it's like so you know all the pieces of the puzzle bit and I get that great sense of satisfaction you know knowing that I worked really hard on that and then yeah so it's it's and what's weird though is that I don't like to do puzzles. Oh, I was actually good to ask. That's funny. Yeah, no, I had that my husband do them. You do them enough at work that you don't need to do. Yeah, no, I've watched my husband do puzzles and that's very frustrating. But yeah, it's just the mystery of it. Just being able to read it, you know, look for the certain things that you need to look for and, you know, code it and code it, you know, I always strive for a clean claim. Yeah. And I don't like to make mistakes and but I learn from mistakes like we have internal audits that go on and you know so we're lucky that our auditor she uses it as an education educational type thing as as it should be right yeah and my manager said that she's had auditors before that that's not how it was, so we're lucky that ours is so good at that, that if we do make mistakes, she's okay, this is how you need to do it going forward. And it kind of leads me to how I even got into the medical billing and coding world is that my stepmother, who's a nurse always said, you know, you wouldn't made a good nurse, you know, just getting in that, you have the right temperament for it, you have the thirst for the knowledge for that

but my one big thing is that I didn't want any mistake of mine to cost somebody their life. Yeah. And so worst case scenario and what I do, we send a corrected claim. Yeah, but it's a lower. Yeah, so, and yeah, I mean, there's there's been mistakes and you know, they're honest, you know, mistakes, not anything because, yeah, I mean, and they always know I beat myself up over any mistakes that happens. So you know it does happen and but that's I just you know I love what I do I love the knowledge and I'm in the medical field and there's so many things that you can do with having, you know, a CPC. So many places to go or, you know, you got all different kinds of coding. Just like if you were a nurse or a doctor, there's so much out there. Yeah. And, but. I love that you love your role. It sounds like you have like a great teamam with a strong support system. And it's kind of cool to hear about you starting a little bit later. I think sometimes people get intimidated by making a career change later. And I just think that's like really admirable. And it's and it's worked get to yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I mean it's worked out great because I mean my husband for a long time he was an aerospace engineer. And so that's why we did the relocation to Denver and all that. He then decided that he just didn't like what he was doing and now he's a high school science teacher. Oh, you guys both did it. Yeah, well, he, I mean, he just

he just, he decided he just wasn't satisfied. All the stuff going on in that kind of world. There's a lot of government oversight in what he did and because he was involved in launching rockets and stuff like that. And so he really likes teaching, but of course the pay went significantly down. And so being a coder, mine went up from when I was a patient collector, bill or, and so it actually has worked out really well. And like I said, I'm hoping to stay where I'm at until I retire. And there's several of us in our team that, yeah, this is our end job. We love it so much there. So we're just, yeah. That's so cool. I don't want to take a lot of your time. I know you're on the lunch break and you want to get back to the job you love. Do you have anything else you want to share with the AAPC community about exams, credentialing, local chapters, anything you'd like to share? I'd say try and learn as much as you can. There's so much out there and some, you know, the resources, you know, as far as getting the CEUs, I mean, just, you know, the AAPC, you know, with the magazines, that's a big thing. You've got the webinars, which I've done those before. There's, you know, so much that you can get. There's so much knowledge that you can get. Like, I'm currently doing a practicode or orthopedic practice code. Those are real, real nice to do. I've done a couple of those. Now, as far as the chapter meetings, I haven't been able to really go. At the times

they closed the one closest to me. So I'd have to go up into St. Louis and I live about an hour from where they were doing them. Yeah, I have done some of the virtual, which is very nice, especially during COVID, you know, that kind of thing is very helpful. But yeah, there's so many resources out there. And I mean, just through the AAPC website, you can see all kinds of things that you can learn, you know, like I mean just through the AAPC website you can see all kinds of things that you can learn you know like I said through the practice codes if you're gonna go for a specialty certification you get the study guides I did like the online training I went through that there's so there's things out there even with my husband's friend you know I know, I told her, I said, you can do everything through, go through AAPC, you can do the training just for that, they have study guides, they have, you know, they have the help on there, and she passed it on her first attempt. I love that. I love that AAPC is like a small part of now her story but also your story in like this career trajectory for you. That sounds awesome. It thinks you taking the time by this.

Hello and welcome back to another I am a PC interview. We are here with Jessica Halliday. Jessica, thank you so much for taking the time to join us. Can you first of all tell us about yourself where are you talking to us from? Do you have any pets? Just a little bit about you. Okay, I am in Memphis, Tennessee, birthplace of rock and roll, home with the blues. I have been here, it'll be 21 years in June, so a long time. I love it here. I fell in love with the city, fell in love with the music and the people and the food. So it's my home now. I've got two cats. Roland and Peter. Roland is 19 years old. I know he's hanging on by thread, but he's hanging in there. All he cares about is food, water, and me. So that's nice. And then Peter's nine and he's over, he's over, mess of a boy, but I love them both. Wait, sorry, it cut out. Did you say he's he's overweight? He's overweight. Yeah, he's 16 pounds. Okay. Reading the other day that cats should really only be about like 10 to 12 at his age. So, okay, he's a bit overweight. We're gonna have to look at a diet. It's fine. Right. I feel like, I feel like A. P.C. Members love cats. Like people always are posting photos of their cats helping them study and it's just like coders and cats. I don't know what it is. Okay so you're in Memphis, you've got Roland and Peter. Are you working from home? Yes. And what is your current role? I'm a pro-fee outpatient coder. I work for, it's called Carl Foundation Hospital, they are in Illinois. So, okay. So remote work

how long have you been doing that? Today is actually my one year anniversary. Is that crazy? Congratulations. Were you working from home before COVID started or did that change things for you? No, I had worked from, I had done like a lot of like freelance writing and marketing and things like that beforehand, so I had worked from home before, but not like, not 40 hours a week. So I got it. It's an adjustment, but I'm sure Roland and Peter love having you. Oh, they do love it. I love it. Yeah, it is nice. Okay, can we talk about your credentials and how you got into coding and just give me that whole background? Yeah, so I am a CPC, you know, pre-COVID I was doing, I've got my master's degree in journalism advertising so that, you know, long, long story there, but before COVID I was working in social media marketing and I was doing marketing for four different restaurants in town. There, two of them were like fine dining. One was like, two of them were like a music venue slash restaurants. And then I was also doing like bartending on the side at two other music venues in town. So I had three, three different jobs. So come COVID, all of my jobs went away because those industries took the biggest hit. Right. So, um, so yeah, I was, I actually called my mom crying hysterically because I was the first time I was ever on unemployment, you know, and I just didn't know what to do. And I've always said I wanted to have a skill, you know. And so I called her and was just like, what do I do? I'm lost. And she basically was like, you know

you know, you always talked about doing medical coding in the very beginning of things. And so she was like, I've got a couple of coders that I work with. I'd be happy to have them reach out to you and tell you what they do every day. And so we did that. And like, you know, they were just like you have to be able know, be able to work independently. You have to like being alone a lot, you know, you have to like being a detective. And so all of those things were like very enticing to me. And so I called A. A. P. C. And I was just like, you know, tell me more about this. I have very little like I think I worked in like our urology clinic when I was 18. I mean, I think I started this whole program when I was like 41-ish, I don't remember. I don't know age anymore, but, okay. But, um, so yeah, so I called AAPC and the guy walked me through everything. He was like, you should definitely take the medical terminology and the anatomy course and and he talked me into the, he was like, do you learn well on your own? And I do, and so he talked me into the self-guided, you know, course, and so here I am. I started in January of 2001. Yeah, 2001 I started in January and finished the whole course in like June. Wait, 2001, I thought this was post-COVID. No, it is. Isn't COVID, no, 2020. Okay, okay. I was, I was having like a, an actual brain fart. Okay, okay. All right, so you started, sorry, January 2021. Yes, 2021, and then finished in June. And then yeah. And then you have this job. We're in February. Yes. So yeah, so then I finished in June. I gave myself

my cats are starting to scream right now. I gave myself two months to prepare for the exam. And then I took the exam in August past that and then worked you know diligently doing the practice code. I think in like the end of November and then I interviewed for the the job that I have now I want to say it was December and then I hired on in like January, but I didn't start until February 7th. Sure. This story has taken so many turns. I think it's so interesting. First of all, I'm so sorry that you were hit by COVID. I know that it impacted so many people and so many industries. But I'm sorry that happened to you. That's so scary. You know, I'm sorry that it happened to me, but honestly, like, it seriously put me down the path that I really am enjoying. So I feel like I kind of benefited somehow from COVID. You got to find the silver lining, right? Sure, sure. Okay, and that your mom just had some coding friends and... Well, she worked for, I want to say she worked for Optima, like one of those, like insurance companies, she was like the, I don't know, this is terrible that I don't know what my mom did, but like the director of disease management or something. I don't know. She has a health care experience. Yes, she has tons of health care experience. Wow, okay. First, and then you passed your exam on the first try. Yes, luckily. That's amazing. I know. What did you do to prepare? Because I know that's something that people who are approaching the exam are always nervous. What tips do you have for future examinies? So I over prepared

I think. I was terrified to take the test, you know, like I think I have like PTSD from being in third grade and doing like the multiplication tables timed and it's scary. I know that any time test like yeah I was terrified but I didn't really give them like I graduated, when I finished with the course in June, I didn't give myself like a set time. I just, I was reading the Facebook page a lot and a lot, somebody said something like, if, as long as you keep taking the practice tests until you're getting like an 85, then you should, okay. And so I was doing the practice exams I had I had the three practice exams and then I was watching videos like the contemporary contempo coding and I mean I watched every like YouTube video on you know all of the like really hard the hardest parts for me which was like E&M and cardio and all those and then what else did I do oh I made all these I don't like I've signed up for quiz lit okay if you like, it kind of makes, um, flashcards for you on your computer. So I did that. I went back through all of my, you know, exams on, um, during the, the course. So I over prepared for sure. And then I got to the point where I was like, I'm taking this test so much and I'm doing really well on it and I just want to take this test and just see where I lie. Do you feel like the practice tests reflected the actual exam? I do. I really do. And I know like AAP says, AAPC says that, you know, they're not harder, but I did feel like they were harder. I have heard that. Yeah. So I just took them over and over again and, you know

you know, read every rationale, even the ones that I got correct. Like I said, I over prepared because I hate failing and anything A and B, you know, I just I just wanted to get that test out of the way and move on. Yeah, well it sounds like you did a great job. I want to go back a little bit. You took the self-guided course. Yes. How did you feel? Obviously it worked out for you. Do you have opinions on that? You know, because I know it's I know it's not for everyone. No, it's definitely not for everybody. I know a lot of people learn better in a setting where, you know, there's somebody to, you know, talk to you about things and ask questions constantly. But for me, it was great. And also, like I said, I had no jobs. I was on on unemployment so I made it my full-time job I did it eight hours a day. Oh wow. I just I seriously just pushed myself through it all so it worked out great for me and any time I had questions I would just email a PC and they would always reply quickly and you know they were really really good. They were giving me like extra side notes and stuff. I wasn't really impressed with how they were. I'm so happy to hear you had such a good experience. Okay, and then my last question is regarding practicode. Yeah. Can you tell me about your experience with that? Really hard. Very hard. Especially, I guess I just didn't even know what to expect, but when I got in there, I was super lost at first. So again, another email to AAPC, like help. But again, that was just another thing where I was like, okay

okay, I am going to try to code 50 cases a week, you know, like, yeah, and a day for the five days. And you know, some days I'm like, I can't do, I cannot do this right now. Like I just, I don't have my, any brain energy left. Yeah. And so I would do like, you know, two or three one day and then maybe I would do 20 another day. you know I just kept pushing myself through it because honestly like I did talk to somebody that told me that when you get your A removed you do you get like into the higher paid scale? I was like okay I don't get that A removed then. Yeah so it was hard but worth it would you recommend a practice code? Oh, definitely. I mean, I definitely think that it shows you more about like real life coding, I feel like. Yeah. I think we use the term like reading the note and trying to find what you need to find within the note so yeah yeah I think we use the term like real world cases like like real redacted medical records and yeah so um wow it sounds like beyond the beginning where COVID impacted your career it was it was smooth sailing. I mean, obviously you put like a lot of work into it, but it sounds like, and you use the AAPC Facebook group, which I always love to jump in there and see what everyone's saying and they can answer your questions. Do you, yeah, I loved the Facebook group when I was on it. It's kind of gotten a little crazier than, I mean, I haven't been on it for a minute, but I mean, everybody was so helpful when I was on it. I loved it. It really got me through, you know, I'd get on there and be like, oh

oh, I'm having so much trouble and, you know, people would be like, DME me on the side, I'll help you figure it out. So everybody was so helpful. So I love that code or community. I feel like that is, every time I look at the Facebook group, that is people are always so helpful. Yeah. Yeah. I have, I'm sorry, I just keep asking you questions. I'm so interested in your story. Have you been to like local chapter meetings or conferences or events or anything? I know you're like pretty new to all of it. I'm just curious. So I am I have only done the virtual meetings for my chapter, but I have been to several and there I've had some really interesting presentations that I've seen that have made you know, made a lot more sense now that I'm actually doing it. Yeah, and I'm actually on the National Board of Advisors. I'm not the advisory board, the NAB. Yeah, the NAB. I knew that and I'm so glad you brought it up because I didn't want to forget to. Do you want to talk about that? Yeah, I was on the Facebook page and they did like a live video of you know how they needed like new board members. And he know he was just like it doesn't matter your experience and all this stuff. So I was like I'm just going to apply for it. And so I applied for it and then I got an interview. I was like, I'm just going to apply for it. Like, it can't hurt me, you know, to apply. And so I applied for it and then I got an interview. I was like, oh my gosh, really like you're interviewing me? I have no experience. But yeah, I just think kind of where it lied after, you know

you know, COVID hitting, I think a lot of people were changing over to that path. And so I was just like, you know, there's an opportunity for somebody like me to be on the board with having no experience and just going through this whole course. So. I mean, I think there's a lot of value in having different people with different experiences on the board. And the fact that you are new and you're post-COVID and all of that, I think that is very relevant and will be extremely helpful. So, happy to love you. Yeah, thanks. Okay, I think my last question for you is just going to be like, is there anything else you want to share with the AAPC community? You know, I know I hear a lot of people frustrated that they're not finding jobs and like I would just to speak to that like you really you really have to put yourself out there you have to network you have to put tons of resumes out I think I've put like 25 to 50 resumes out a week. Like I lost count because I was applying to everything and you know I knew better than to apply to anything that was like oh we want three years of experience but I was you know if they're like we want one year I would apply to that you know I'm just you just you just you really have to push yourself to try to you know get get out there and get what you want because you know it's not going to just fall in your lap. I mean I mean I'm kind of did but you put a lot of work into it I mean I you, and then it was honestly the Facebook page where I got my job. I posted a post. I was like, you know

you know, brand new coder here just passed my test, you know, need a job and my, she's my supervisor now. She was like, you know, applied to, we're hiring, apply to our place. and so I did. I love that. Jessica, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us, and I wish you the best of luck. Thank you, you too. Thanks for having me. Okay, bye.

Welcome to another edition of I am AAPC. I am AAPC Alex and today helping me from the national office is Heather Johnson. Heather, how are you? Good, how are you? I am great. Thanks so much for doing this and just so our audience knows Heather, Heather, how are you? Good, how are you? I am great. Thanks so much for doing this. And just so our audience knows, Heather will be taking on one of these I am AAPA, APC interviews on months. So I'll have one and she'll have one and you'll get to see the different faces at the National Office. So Heather, thank you so much for joining me and being a part of this and and helping us learn more about Haley Garner. I am happy to be here. Haley, thank you for being here. Hey, I'm excited to hear. So Haley, you reached out to me via, well, from the health, from HealthCon, con this past this past spring and you mentioned you kind of told us a little bit about your story but why don't you just tell our members a little bit about what led you into the to the business of health care and and that path that you on right now. Okay, so I actually kind of got into coding by, in a way, accident. I didn't really know what I wanted to do in college and somebody mentioned it. And I was like, oh

oh, I'll just do that in the interim until I figured out what I want to do with my life. So I took a coding class and that's kind of how I got into medical coding and I love it. So did you have any idea then of what you wanted to do in college or you're just taking it just to kind of experience a bunch of different classes and see where you may lead. I went to two different options, teaching and then I thought about pharmacy, but I became a pharmacy tech and realized I'd love to be a pharmacy tech, but I didn't think pharmacist was really for me. Yeah, yeah. And had you ever thought about the clinical side of health care? Not really. I've done all sorts of pharmacy as far as behind the scenes in the hospital and up front in a retail store. But I've never really considered the clinical side of health care for myself. So what was the appeal of medical coding for you? Honestly, I didn't even know what it was when I signed up for the class. So I just kind of jumped in headfirst to something that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But once I got into it, I'm a very thought driven numbers person and so I really liked, liked it once I got started. Awesome, awesome. Heather, do you have any questions for Haley? Yeah, I'm just curious

like what kind of organization or facility are you working at right now? And do you like it? Is that like a specialty you want to stay in or you want to branch out? So right now I'm working for a gastron terminology office and I absolutely love it. I do the procedure coding. But I actually have recently been offered a new position that I'm really excited to start soon and an oncology. Congratulations. Thanks. That's what I love about this industry is you may start at coding, but there's so many different paths you can take and here you are about to jump into Q&A. Yes. Did you ever think or think that you'd leave coding? I mean, you'll still be in it to a degree, but did you ever see yourself going into QA or auditing and things? I actually recently got my auditing certification and so that was kind of something I wanted to do. It's more the auditing side of things and I really like teaching. So I think this will be a really good combination of the two. Yes, yes. So take us back to that class. So you're in this college class, you're thinking I think I could like this. This could this could be it for my career. And from there did you just take more college classes on coding or did you land into the APC world from there? Tell us about that journey. I decided to take a medical coding and billing class online. And from there, I decided that the CBC was kind of the best option for me from there. And that's kind of how I got into AAPC to begin with. Okay. So how long have you been a member for now, Haley? Since 2018. Okay. All right

so all of this is pretty new. Pretty new, yeah. Yeah, four years into it, that's so exciting. And did this online course help prepare you for the CPC exam? Yes, I would say so. I, it was very thorough in both inpatient and outpatient coding and I felt very prepared for the CBC, but one thing I also found helpful is just getting on the Facebook groups and stuff and seeing the other questions AAPC members were asking to prepare for the exam and reading that stuff to better prepare myself. Okay, so you found the resources to help you. And the AP Facebook group is huge. Tens of thousands of members. Such a wide variety of members from students to veteran coders in there. And you you asked you just threw your questions in there and you had the help that you needed. Yep, pretty much. That's exciting. Awesome, that's so great to hear. Now, Haley, tell me about the exam and preparing for the exam because it's long, it's tough. Was it, did it live up to its billing for you? Yes, it is a very long and tedious exam that you have to be very, very organized with your time. And one thing I appreciated about that is it's the same place thing in the workplace. Like you have to be constantly reviewing and working. It's not something that you can just stop and go take it out. You know, like. Yeah. Did you feel like, sorry, Alex, do you feel like the exam was reflective of like the real world work that you were doing? I do. I'm very specialized in what I do right now, so there was a lot on the exam, obviously I don't use

but I did feel like it was reflective and knowing your modifiers and knowing, you know, the different G codes versus the regular codes and stuff like that. Great. I love that. Yeah, one thing I hear, Heather, is related to that question is it's not about all of the information that you have in your brain. It's about knowing where to find it in the books because no one can memorize everything in those books. So what would you agree with that? Yeah, okay. Yes. Awesome. So you take the exam. Tell us about that day in your CPC exam. I miss, well, back then we didn't have it online. Right. That wasn't an option. So you took it, I guess, locally. I did. I actually lived in one place that didn't really have an exam for a while, so I took it and where my parents lived at the time in Oklahoma City. And it was a big, a big test. Like I was surprised about how many people were taking the test and like I wasn't really ready for that. Like I was kind of expecting more of a, like just a few people like didn't know how many were going into the field and stuff at the time. So. Awesome. And and do you have any tips for anybody who is watching on what they can do to have a better exam experience? Like, did you bring anything in with you? I guess you probably had your codebooks tab and marks. Tell us about what things and resources you did to help have a great experience. One thing I did is definitely get organized the night before. Don't just wait till that morning and throw crap in a bag and go, you know. But, you know, mark your books

make the notes you need to. That's an option and that's a great option because I used my notes and both my CPC and CMA exam and those really help you not stress so much at the time of the test. Okay, good. So you take the exam. How did you feel after that? Tired. I definitely was mentally worn out, but I was confident I passed. And I actually didn't have to wait. I was less than a week before I found out. So that was exciting to not have to wait like some people do for a while. Yes, yes. So you were well prepared. I mean to take the exam and come out feeling like very confident. Yeah. You were well. So what tell us about your preparation actually.. So what kind of things did you do to help you get that confidence that you had? I studied and I studied a lot. And honestly, that's the best thing you can do. Become familiar with your books, become familiar with the modifiers and where to find them and where to find them quickly and do practice tests. I found the practice tests very helpful. And there were some questions I had on both the practice test and the test, you know, so definitely, you know, doing what you can to prepare so that you're less stressed at the time of the exam. Yes, I would say that that is one common being that I see in the group is practice exams. Oh, yes. It's worth the cost. I mean, it's not even that expensive is pretty affordable. Yeah. No, I think the practice test were very helpful for, like I said, both the CPC and it, CPMA. Okay, awesome. That's great to hear. Heather, do you have any questions for Haley? Yeah

I just was wondering, it sounds like the Facebook community was really helpful to you, which I love. I'm wondering if you like to take advantage of other, and the practice tests also loves that. If you took advantage of other things like the local chapter, like the A-A-P-C-LAP-C-C-C-I- not even provided by AAPC that you felt supported you in the exam and like finding your first job. I was. I actually moved kind of halfway across the country right after my AAPC exam for a billing position. And at that time, I was able to get involved with the chapter. And that actually really did help me find my, it helped me find positions opened to be able to get my first actual coding position, which was really helpful. I also, I would just say the chapter was very helpful out of the time. Great, I love that. I love that too. And I love to hear local chapters paving that way, helping you pave that way to your first job, because that is one of the most seen discussions in the group is how do I get that first job. If you could go back and do it again, Haley, would you have joined your local chapter when you were a student or was your local chapter not very active? Tell us about that. Where I lived at the time I was a student, there really wasn't a local chapter that was super active. And so that was one thing I kept greeting online that you needed to do and I was kind of wanting that community. But whenever I did relocate, it was available and I tried to take advantage of it. Okay. And so you make these relationships at your local chapter

but you already had a job. Yes. So actually take us back to that. Like so even before you found your chapter, your your new CPCA, and how did you get this billing job job because you're certified as a coder. Tell us about that. Right, so I had taken this billing and coding class and I had pharmacy experience and I found a pharmacy billing position and it was a thousand miles from my house, but I was like, okay, let's try it. So I picked up and relocated to become a pharmacy biller and it's, it definitely helped me because I was able to do infusion coding in that position as well. And from there, I just kind of kept my eyes out for local coding positions, but continued to learn and grow in the position I was in at the same time. I just want to say kudos to you. That sounds like really intimidating. I feel like to move a thousand miles for a new career that was so foreign to you. I just think that's like very brave. So, um, and just for my own knowledge, you were in, you were in Oklahoma and then where did you move to? Or are you in Oklahoma now? I was in Kansas at the time. Oh, you were in Oklahoma City, sorry. Yeah, I took my test in Oklahoma City, but I lived in Kansas and I moved to North Carolina, Asheville area. Okay. Did you have any connections out there in Nashville? I didn't know. I met a few people on a cruise a little while back and they lived around there and that was the only people I do when I moved here. That's so cool. Yeah, I mean, Haley, you're completely committed to this career path. Yes. And it's

and it's been good. It's been worth it. Yes, 100% has. I've loved every minute of it. And when COVID hit, it did become remote, but there are definitely the benefits of being trained in the office. If I was to go back, I would definitely want to start in the office again. Okay. For your new for your new role. Sorry Alex I've just got like so many questions. I just think it's also interesting. So for your new role is that going to be remote? Are you going to train in the office like how is that working? It will be remote, yes. Cool. Yep, it'll be out of Florida and I'll stay in North Carolina. So perfect. You didn't want to move again for another new position. I was willing to if I needed to, but I love your commitment. Money talks, right, Haley. Yep. Well, my dogs don't have much of a say and whether we may over stay. So throughout your mercy. Yes. Well, Haley, you mentioned that you recommend people work in the office for the first job. And we see many people coming into medical coding hoping that that first position is remote. Why do you say that? Why is it important do you think for a coder to start in an office? I would definitely say it's important because you have, I feel like the communication sometimes is better and you have the resources right at your hand there in the office to just be like, hey, can you look at this chart and, you know

you know, help me with that. I have done contract work where it is completely remote and you start remote and you're definitely a lot more in a way on on your own like for learning things but I felt like in the office the community and the communication definitely helped and when that went remote it also helped you knew these people you felt comfortable with them and stuff like that. And that teamwork is definitely a plus for the office. That's what I was going to say. I see Alex in meetings all the time, but when it's in office, there is something about like building that and like seeing someone in person, especially if you just moved, and it's a new company and new people and like being able to meet and interact with them in person so that when you need help later on. Right. That sounds like the best of both worlds like I like to be remote but also I like to see people occasionally. Yes I do love working remote but I I do think working in the office does have a lot of perks too. Yeah. So you've worked at in the office and at home. Tell us about what it's like being remote. Do you love it? Is it challenging? Will you ever go back to the office? I do like working remote. I like that. I actually feel like I get more done just because I'm kind of more in my zone. You don't have people walking by you. You don't, you know. But I do think if I wouldn't be opposed to working back in the office for, like I said, the reasons of communication. Yes, yes, okay. And the position that you're in now, not the position you're going to shortly

is the position you're in now the that first job that you had that you moved out. My first coding position, yes. Yeah. So, okay, so you've been there for about four years. Um, about three and a half, yeah. Three and a half, okay. All right. And then now you're, you know, just opportunities are coming up, and this new position will be in the same or for the same facility that you're in now. No, it is not. Yeah, different company all together. Okay. Okay. All right. So tell me about your aspirations. You have these other certifications. You mentioned CPMA. You're no longer CPCA. I'm sure that's by now. Yes. So tell us about all of the certifications that you have, even if they are not APC related. So I have my CPC and CPMA, but I also have the CCA through AHIMA. And it's not coding related, but I do feel like it's helped me. I do have my pharmacy tech certification also. And I think that's helped with just like knowing drugs as far as which ones are brand name, birth generic name and vice versa and stuff like that. So. Could you have done this without certification? I do not believe so. I I think the certification helped me really prepare for the for real life. And I feel like it would be difficult to learn the position without a certification and having that background knowledge. And then how about on the, as an employer, do you think employers, are they

are they, do they seek those with certifications? Do that come up in this new position that you had applied for now that you'll be moving to? I do think employers do look for those certifications. I do see sometimes, you know, where people will promote from within, but then they'll still require that certification later. And there's positives to that because you're already in the, you know, know the system and everything. But I do think a lot of employers do look for that certification because it does show you have the quality knowledge and the, you know, the guidelines and stuff like that going into it. And there's a little less learning curve. Okay, that's awesome. And what do you see in your future? I mean, because you're going into Q&A right now and you may be there for another four or five more or more years. Is that your, is that your dream to do that or do you see yourself trying something different down the road? So oncology has actually always kind of been my interest. And so going into this Q&A position, I'm kind of, I'm excited to see what it what it leads to. And I can see myself staying in kind of the quality assurance area, but also I can see myself going into being a educator because I think it's really interesting to teach and like teach people that are willing to learn, you know, and they're there because that's something they're interested in. And that's another position I've considered. Awesome, awesome. Heather, do you have any thoughts or questions? I have two thought, and a question. First of all

I think that's so great. You seem like so passionate and devoted that I think we need more people like that who are like instructors for the work that we do. So I think that's really cool. My second, my question was just like regarding, do you want more credentials? As you, I mean, obviously you already have a lot of certifications, already very impressive. Do you think that you'll continue to do more? Are there more that like appeal to you or are you set? So it's funny you ask that I actually am taking a certification test in about three weeks. I'm gonna I'm gonna attempt the CHO and C for oncology even though I haven't quite worked in the field I've been really studying and trying to go toward that as my next certification. But I can see myself being one of those people that's like continually studying for certifications. Love that. She's going to be, Heather, Haley's going to be one of those members that when we have to write out her name on the blog or something, it's going to be like, love this huge old list of acronyms. I know, I actually love this for you, Haley, but as someone who writes for him whenever I see those and I'll be like, okay, and it's like a line, like certification. But that's really impressive. I think that's so cool. Yeah, that's really cool. What I think is cool too is that this oncology certification that you'll be sitting for the exam for shortly is a passion certification, right? It's something you just love. It's not like an employer is asking you to do this or anything. Nope, no

no, but just whenever the opportunity presented itself in December when things were on sale, I was like, you know, that's something I'm interested in. I'm just gonna go for it and see what happens. That's so cool. I'm sorry, just to confirm, you saw that the certification that like all of that was on sale and so you were like, you know what, I'm gonna do it. Yep. I, I, that's very impressive. Yeah. I love how much you love to learn. That's really cool. Yes, I do. Yeah. Yeah. I interviewed someone recently who they, their family had some connection with rheumatoid arthritis. I can't even say that right. But because of that, she she took our arthritis specialty certification. So is there a reason that you love oncology so much? Had your family been stricken with cancer or it's just something that you've always just been simply interested in? It's something I've always kind of had an interest in, but a few years ago my grandpa did pass and I think he had liver cancer and I think that did just kind of intrigue me more to be a part of what's all going in and on on and as far as research in the oncology and hematology world and I kind of want to be a part of that. Awesome. The great coders, Heather, they're the ones who do this. I don't want to say crazy, but in their special way. They have that passion and they grab onto it and they just, they will go down those rabbit holes no matter how hard it may be. Yeah, yeah. So that's so cool. And how do you, Haley, with the multiple certifications that you currently have

how do you find your CEUs? What's your process for getting your CEUs each period? Well, my work actually provides one free CEU month and that's really helpful. But I also attend chapter meetings. That's the other way. It's typically free or $15 really relatively low cost and you're able to learn about a variety of topics that are very interesting I think. Yes, awesome. Do you use any of the free options through APC? I guess you do the local chapters, but do you do magazine? I do do the magazine too. Okay. Awesome. Do you take advantage of any of the webinars or workshops that we offer? I haven't. I went to HealthCon. That was about as much of a webinar as I'm able to do. No, was it? Did you like HealthCon? Was it good? I loved it. I actually was able to win through the Cyber Monday. And so I, I was so excited and I have already kind of gone through and watched almost all the pre-recorded stuff. That's so awesome. That's a big, that's a grab of CEUs in itself right there. Oh yeah, it's like 18 or something. Oh yeah, that's awesome. It's a lot of information in three days. Like in the end, you're just like so excited to be in this career, but you're just so exhausted from all the stuff you've learned in the last meetings. So, really, oh, go ahead Heather. Oh, I just was going to follow up on health con. Was the event you attended? Was it virtual or was it in person or was it a hybrid? Like

how did you do it was virtual? It was this past year. Cool. Do you feel like I know they have opportunities to meet people? Did you feel like you met people at that health con? I did actually. I was able to network with quite a few people and have some conversations and network on indeed and LinkedIn. It's LinkedIn. It's LinkedIn. It's LinkedIn. Not indeed not indeed, LinkedIn with a bunch of the people that I was able to meet and have conversations with. So that was fun. Good, good. I think that's like such an important part of these conferences. So yeah. And those opportunities are what lead people to their next job sometimes. So you never know where those relationships could lead. And I would just recommend, I mean, we've seen student coders show up at conferences. So don't hesitate if you're close to Denver. We have our Denver regional conference. And it's depending depending on where you're when you're watching this. Look on APC's website at our events and see if there's a conference happening near you because this building those relationships are so critical and it's awesome to see you doing that Haley. Yeah, Haley, we're wrapping up here, but I want to want to know what does Haley Garner do in her free time? Are you just completely zoned in on coding or do you have hobbies outside of your career? I have a few different hobbies. I actually recently took up CrossF fits, so I'm attempting that right now. But another thing I do is I foster animals and that takes up a good chunk of time. So right now I have six foster cats

so just craziness in this house. You called them your fur babies before we came on. Yes, yes. I definitely have a passion for rescue and animal rescue and stuff like that. So how does that work? So do you care for them and help them find a new home eventually? Yes, so I'm kind of their interim interim home. So as soon as they come into the shelter, they'll go to a foster home. And from there, they have to get fixed and they have to get vaccinated and all that. And once all that is done and they're up for adoption, they go typically to their forever home after that. So. What a great day. But you have you have two two dogs that are yours to stay, right? I have two dogs that are mine and two cats that are mine and then six foster cats. That is a busy house. Yes. Well Heather, do you have any final questions for Haley? I don't think so. I'm just once again, really impressed with your devotion to learning and catching catching all these credentials and and congratulations on the new role that's very exciting. Especially since you've always been interested in oncology. I'm that's really exciting that you're in that. It's hard whenever it's a you're in a position you like it's hard to make that decision to go ahead and and take that next step. Yeah. Hey Lee, if you were to meet someone or someone reached out to you and say, Hey, is this the right career for me? What would you what would you tell them? Um, I've had that happen. And my typical advice is, first I ask why. Because in my opinion, if you're going into this just to work from home

that's probably not the career for you. It needs to be something you're passionate about and you like and you're willing to grow in. Um, and if that's what you're wanting to do is find a career that challenges you and you're just passionate about, I think for sure go for it and I'll help you. I even have offered, you know, help with those next steps. So. Okay, well, that's awesome, awesome to hear. I mean, sounds like there's plenty of opportunity. If you stick with it, you found yours a thousand miles away from home. Yes. And no regrets for moving to North Carolina. You're liking it out there? Not at all. I'm in the mountains as opposed to the flatlands, so I can't complain about that. I've heard that Asheville has like a surprising number of waterfalls. Yes, there's a lot of waterfalls around here. Yeah, I've heard great things about Asheville. Yeah, it's a pretty area. Really pretty area. Well, awesome. Haley, thanks for joining us. Heather, thanks for being a part of this. We appreciate it. And Haley, I guess if someone wants to reach out to you and learn more about your story, they can find you on LinkedIn, I'd imagine. Yes, yes, you you can. All right. Okay, well thank you so much for being with us and for those who are watching

you can also listen to Haley tell her story on the AAPC podcast. Just go to your favorite podcast staff and search for the AAPC podcast and you'll find past episodes of I am AAPC and you'll also find the audio recordings for AAPC social hour. So we hope to see you there and Haley thanks again and you have a great day. Thanks, you guys too. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Hello and welcome to another edition of I am AAPC, where we look at the journeys of AAPC members and how they ended up in medical coding and in the revenue cycle side of health care. I am A. A. P. Alex and today with me is Morgan Scott. How are you, Morgan? I'm good. How are you? I am great. Now, when we sent out a call for for people to connect with about I am a PC, you sent a great story about a single mom trying to make her path and find a career. Would you just tell us a little bit about yourself where you're from and and share your journey with us. I am from Clayton. I'm, Clayton's a little small rural town in northeast New Mexico. I began my health care career in 2015. I started out registering patients for outpatient services and also did reception at a rural health clinic here. From there, I transitioned to the business office where I did insurance follow up appeals, denial resolution and billing. I've been directly applying codes for one year. And my experience leading up till now has proven be very beneficial to my current position. Okay. And what did you know about medical coding in this world prior to prior to that first position? Um, just that they dealt with charts, like they took clinical documentation from doctors and physicians and nursing staff and they created it into billing codes for the insurance process and doing that just really interested me. So what were you doing previously? And do you remember? Like, I mean

I mean, so were you just searching for a job and searching online and found this information? Tell us a little bit about, like, we want to get deep into the background, Morgan. Yes, yes, yes, so like the struggle and all of those things. I just talked to you. I had some co-workers that were also dealing with the medical H. I am side of things and that was something that I haven't explored yet. Yeah, they just, that aspect kind of intrigued me and. Yeah. So Morgan, did you, did you have a desire to work in health care when you're growing up in high school and things like that? No, I come from a family of teachers and that was what I initially ventured out to do was early childhood development. And life happens, detours, speed bumps. I think everybody can attest to that. And I found my way in health care and ended up really loving it. Okay. And you mentioned that you're single mom. Yes. And did you, as a young mother, were you seeking a career, a career change or a new career as a young mother? Yes, I was. Okay. And were you, were you working full-time at home, taking care of the family at that time, or did you have a career established? Well, I was a stay-at-home mom previously before I became a stay-at-home mom, but after I started back in the workforce, I wanted, I definitely wanted a career. And I didn't not seeing anything bad about stay-at-home moms. That was just a blessing for me that I could stay home. But I wanted, I wanted to be more than just mom, you know, I wanted to be more than just mom, you know

you know, I wanted something I could be proud of myself in outside of everything a mother entails. Yes, yes, which is a lot. And so you you seek work, your stay-at-home mom seeking employment. Did you jump right into medical coding or did you explore several possibilities before then? Where else did you work during that exploration phase? I did behavioral health before I went into the local hospital that I work at now. Okay, I'm doing what was that on the on the revenue cycle side or no, it was like direct patient care like like a behavior management specialist working with kids that needed behavioral health therapy. Okay, that would be challenging, I'm sure. Yes. And you thought that was not a path for you? Right. I liked the behind the scenes aspect of health care. Okay. And did you get a glimpse into that while working as a behavioral health specialist or did you have friends that you're, did you have friends working in the revenue cycle side, why you're working in behavioral health? Not there. Because my area is so rural, behavioral health and mental health is very hard, I guess, like the resources are just very limited in an area like I live. And there was some transitions of care and insurance remapping of our state, that that place that I worked at had to close. And so before that happened, I had reached out to my local hospital and they had positions open and the revenue cycle and I got my start there. Okay

so did you know much about the revenue cycle side of health care prior to that call? No. No. Okay. And so they opened that door for you? Yes. And did they did they say you must be certified to work here? Or did they say we have these jobs open, we'll train you? How did that work, Morgan? They had these jobs open at the front desk working, like registering for outpatients like labs, x-rays. You come in to get an outpatient ultrasound if you're like receiving OB care, things like that. And I would deal with registering those patients and verifying their insurance, et cetera. And so it's not like you said, hey, I want to be a medical coder and got certified your APC and got that first job. You started in a non-traditional, not a coding job, but you're on the administrative side. Okay. And was it through that position that you got to interact with the coders in the in the revenue cycle side more exactly. All right. And what was the appeal to you versus what you were doing? Just all the possibilities that coding and the H. I.M. Department can open for you. You know, like you're, you don't have to just do coding. You know, there's auditing, there's compliance, there's risk adjustment. And that just really appealed to me, especially being a single mom, that there's so many options and a room to grow. Yes, yeah. And that's interesting to say that because oftentimes in my interviews with our members, even though most members start out with the CPC, they end up in those different places, you know

you know, auditing and compliance and in different areas. So that's awesome. So at what point did you find AAPC in all of this, Morgan? I have some co-workers, some with AAPC, some with other organizations like a HEMA. And I just talked to both of them at work and said, Hey, what do you like about AAPC? And I just kind of weighed my options about what path I wanted to take and A, A, P, C, really seemed like it was right for me. Okay. With what A, B. C. Had to offer and what I might want to, to use with that. Where to go from there. And you're currently certified? Yes, I have my CPC. Okay, and when did you take your exam for that and pass? May. If this is tax. Wow. All right. So all of this is new. Yes. Pretty pretty new relatively. And to tell us about your studies for the exam and we see the challenge of studying and trying to pass the exam. We see that in our Facebook group and online. What was what was studying and preparing for the CPC exam like for you, Morgan? Well, it was really it was hectic and as a single mom, but also inspiring. Um, I began my coding classes at the beginning of the COVID pandemic and navigating online classes for myself as well as a new normal for my child, like her online class, it was just really stressful. But there are nights we both set at the table together and we did our homework at the same time. She had vocabulary and I kind of did too because I was learning about medical terminology and that was kind of neat to see

I'm going to sit down with your child to be doing homework together. She didn't quite understand what I was doing. She thought I was some secret spy because there's all these codes everywhere. So that was kind of interesting, but you know as a single mom, you're just mentally emotionally and physically drained. And there's just times where you feel like you have nothing left to pour out of an empty cup. And you know, there's little subtle reminders that your child remind you of while you're pushing through the struggle and the positive example you're setting for them. So in the end, like that's just all what any parent really wants is to create a good life for their children and pass on a way of life that you both want to be proud of. And an APC gave me that sense of accomplishment and I'm like forever grateful. I did take the APC course. I purchased the study guides. I did the practice exams. I've had a tutor and there's there's all kinds of platforms that AAPC gives you. You know, like the Facebook page, you know, those are, that's a good place to ask questions. There's workshops and all kinds of things available to you. And I utilized all of that. You were determined to pass the exam and succeed. Yes. Awesome. You had a good feeling that this is it. This is what I want to do. Yes, I found my niche. Now, what was the exam like? I took it online and they do two parts to do part one and part two. Each part was two hours and 45 minutes. Setting up was a challenge

but once you have it figured out and you reach out to other members and how what advice they had, it definitely made it easier. I liked the two parts just because that gave me a little break in between the two parts just the kind of refocus, take a break, take a breather, and then get back into it. You were one of our first online examinees. That's all very new for aC. Yes. Yes. And do you have any recommendations for students who may be contemplating whether to take it in person or online? I guess that just depends on how you are. It's a test taker and maybe a learner if you might have any disabilities. I think it just kind of is very unique to the test taker. I probably could have done the whole five hour and 40 minute test start to finish. No problem, but I'm an over thinker and I know my nerves get the best of me. So I know there's a lot of people like that too and I tend to second guess myself. So I liked the two parts, I guess it's just there's a lot of options to weigh. Yeah, yeah. Well, going even further speaking to, I mean, you're a member of our Facebook group, yes, and which is a huge community. If you're watching this or listening to this on our podcast, there are over 40,000 members of students just like you were and veteran coders just like you are now. What

and you see all the questions come through Morgan and a lot of similar ones each week from new students. What advice would you give to students who are struggling with preparing for the exam? Did you struggle? I did. I did. And I didn't pass my first time. I had to take it again. And don't get discouraged. You just keep at it. Like, use your resources, ask those questions. It's nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of people don't pass their first time. And I did find out, you know, it's not that the employers don't ask you how many times did you take the test before you got your certification. They just look for the certification. So if you take it one time, four times, seven times, 11 times, like that's like once you pass, like how many times you took to get to that point is like no longer important, you know, that that certification now trumps that. Yep, once you have it, you have it. Yes, and there is a lot of questions on Facebook that I didn't even think to ask. Um, and I'm like, oh, that's a good question. I'm going to follow this thread. Or there is some questions that I was thinking, but might have been too introverted and scared to actually post and ask this question, because you know, that is a large community. But I just, sometimes you just have to put yourself out there. You are surprised by the answers that you get and the support and the encouragement. Wow. And you, when you passed your exam this past May, you'll kind of have to fill in your work history a little bit. But you told

you shared that with me a little bit at the beginning. But were you still in that register type of position in May when you passed? No, I actually got to transition into the medical records H. I am department prior to passing my test. I internally transferred once a coding position opened up. So I was able to start coding before I passed my test. Wow, wow, wow. So we know the challenge that some members have finding their first job after passing the exam. But you stepped into a position that puts you in the health care world to start. And as doors opened in the departments that you, department that you wanted to work and opened up, you were right there. They knew you and you had a relationship. Yes, I have just finished my classes. So while I was studying for my exam, I was also starting getting your job as a coder. Oh, congratulations. That is an amazing story. All right. And so I'm sure when you got that coding job, your first coding job, and this is just a few months back,. There might have been some nerves and some butterflies in your stomach thinking, wow, I've prepared for this, here we go. How was it? How was it when you went in and started coding and putting all of your knowledge to into action. That it was exciting. I felt like a little kid in a candy store and that's when I knew like I picked the right career path when you walk into a job position like that after preparing and studying and playing all your blood, sweat, tears and lack of sleep and extra coffee or whatever. You know

it was a really good feeling and a sense of accomplishment. Wow, that is great. Now, you're just a few months into it, so I'm kind of jumping the gun here, but you brought up all of the different possibilities that you could go into. Now that you've been coding for a little bit, are there areas that resonate with you and you think, hey, maybe I'll try being an auditor or a compliance manager or educator. It's still so new right now. I'm focusing on getting my experience and building on that and just learning everything I can right now. I do want to pursue going into like getting my associates in H. I am maybe get a specialty certification. I did get my test results back from APC after I had contacted them when I passed and I wanted to know what areas I did well in, what areas I struggled with. That also helped me after I didn't pass my first test, knowing what areas I needed to struggle, where I needed to study with, and what areas I knew I was already good in. But I scored really high in the surgery aspect of it in compliance. And I know there are specialty coding that you can get for surgery. And they're obviously compliance too. So that's an option like in the future, but all right focusing on my experience now. That's right. So one step at a time just enjoy this moment and this moment could be years you could you may love it and just want to hang out for a little bit doing what you're doing. Yes. Okay. All right. Well, and again, what a great example to your daughter. And I'm sure

what a great sense of accomplishment you must feel. I do. Thank you. You're welcome. All right, well, Morgan, thank you for sharing that story with us and we're proud of you. It's so amazing and fun to see new coders who, I mean, this is literally brand new for you. You've done it. You've conquered the exam. Well, you first, you conquered the curriculum and then the exam during COVID. And took the online exam and you're employed. You're working in the field that you sought to work in. So way to go. Thank you. You're welcome. All right. Well, any final words or thoughts that you have for someone who may be watching this, Morgan, who may be thinking about this as a career path? Just if do you have any questions, Facebook, and this is a really good resource to ask questions and the AAP, AAPC website. And if you have any questions, feel free to talk to me and I will be there and encourage and cheer you on. It's just like I have that for me and I loved it. Wonderful. All right, so if you're a new coder or thinking about getting in the industry, hopped into our Facebook group, Morgan might be the one answering your questions on there. So keep a lookout for her in our Facebook group. Morgan, thank you for sharing your story and best of luck to you as you venture into the different parts of the health care revenue cycle. Thank you for happy. You're welcome welcome. All right, Morgan, you stick with me for a moment. Everybody

thank you for watching this episode. We don't forget to watch us and subscribe or watch us on YouTube or on our social media channels or listen on our podcast. It can be found on your favorite podcast distribution app. Just search for the AAPC podcast. Thank you everybody.

Welcome to another edition of I am AAPC, where we feature and learn about the lives of AAPC members. I am Alex McKinley from the National Office and today I have Bonnie Share. Hi, Bonnie. How are you? I'm doing well. Thank you so much. It looks like you're in your home office. I am surrounded by my code books. All right. All right. Well, you know, I put out the call a few weeks ago for nominations for members to share their stories. And I just want to read a little bit about what you sent me. So you said, I earned my CPC in the 90s and we moved to Arkansas in 2000. Before I was fully unpacked, I received a phone call that the first words I heard were, are you a CPC? So I'm excited to hear about that. Would you tell us at first before that phone call, what led you to AAPC and be in earning that CPC certification in the first place? I had gone to work for a physician billing company and they told me that some of the clients required a CPC. I didn't have a clue what it was, but I researched it and took the test and passed. Wow, all right. So just just like that, they guided you to the certification. They did. And they led me into auditing, which got me into my CPA. And then we moved to Arkansas. And again, down here, some clients want CPC, some want the AHIMA credentials. So I got all my bases covered. You have a little bit of everything. I do. Bonnie, I want to back up even further. So what led you to medical coding even before you knew about APC? That job that told you you needed to be certified. Was that your first job in health care? Uh

it was not my first job in health care. I had, my, what was then that ART is now an RHIT, because I had, we had a friend dropped in and left his wife with no insurance and mortgage and all of this. And I said, I got two kids. If something happens to my husband, flipping burgers is not going to support them. So I went back to school. A girl in my Sunday school class happened to be the program director and she heard that I was looking into going back to school and she invited me to her program and there I am. Well at this point before she invited you into into her program did you know much about medical coding and billing? Not a not a scratch. Okay, not a scratch. I'm from a medical family. My mother was a nurse. My sister's a nurse. My brothers were medics. So, you know, medicine is kind of in our blood in one form or another, but I wasn't ready to take on the time commitment of trying to go to nursing school or something like that. So this was a kind of a stopgap, if you would. And I thought later down the road, maybe some of those other things. But I've been happy. I've had a lot of opportunities. I remember that once I got to working for this company and I started auditing, they told me they said, you're really good at this, you could earn up to $25 an hour. And I thought, holy cow. You hit the jackpot. Yeah. And, you know, that was back in the 90s, $25 an hour was huge. Wow. And what year did you receive your CPC certification, do you remember? I think it was 91 or 92. Okay, so APC was founded in 1988. Yes, you were very young. Okay

and you were, so you're, you have been a member a long time. I have. Okay, one of, I would say one of the first members. Yes. You're probably in that first group of, you know, and there's, there's, there are many of you still out there and it's fun to reconnect with, you know, to see to see your journey through this. So real quick. And so tell me about the CPC exam. What was preparing like that, like for you and and how difficult was the exam? The exam was very hard because I had it after I had had a migraine and it had to go to the emergency room the night before. Oh no. But I passed the test. It was a paper test and we had to wait for weeks to get a response. Snailmail. Snail mail waiting for a letter? Yes. And that was probably the hardest part, preparation for it. I did not take the official CPC course because I don't think there wasn't even was one at that point in time, but based on what I was doing with my job, I had gained enough coding knowledge that I felt like I could go ahead and do it. Yeah, that's good. So you were prepared to some extent just from the nature of your employment. Correct. Okay. And now this we're gonna fast forward, Bonnie. How many APC certifications do you have now? I have the CPC, the CMPA, and the CRC. All right. And what is your role now? You mentioned auditing a few times. Would you just kind of share what your expertise is and what your role is at your current employer? Okay, my main job

I am the program chair for a health information program at a community college. And then I audit for a hospital. I do coding audit. It started out it was supposed to be just a coding audit, but it has evolved into CDI and risk management. And so I'm using all of my skills with them and I have a couple of, I have a psych hospital that I go in and audit periodically and a few doctors offices that have just reached out to me because somebody knew somebody and said, this person can do this for you. Wow. So word of mouth and reputation. Yes. Well, great. That is so good to hear. And you, I know you're, you're a member of the Facebook group. Yes. And you see all of these new coders come in and, you know, similar struggles, you know, struggling with exams, struggling or studying to understand some concepts in the curriculum, struggling some struggle to find employment, that first job. First, what advice do you have for a new coder who is recently certified seeking that first job? What would you tell them? Believe in yourself. You got your certification because you knew your information. So believe in yourself and try to find an older coder who will mentor you. I am a big believe in mentoring because, as you say, there are all these young, inexperienced coders, and there are not so many of us older coders anymore, but we need to help them get to where we are. Yes, yes, that's great advice. And so AAPC has a mentorship program. So if you're watching this, wondering how do I find a mentor

you could search on Google or on the APC website mentor program and that will come up. Also, I would just like to make a pitch for our local chapters where you have a variety of experience there. Absolutely. And one thing that has been a blessing from COVID is the onset of Zoom meetings because I'm attending meetings all over the country from my office. And I love it. I have signed up for one from Talaquah, Oklahoma, and one from New York State, and I think one from North Carolina that are coming up. And those are awesome ways. Those are awesome ways to pick up CEOs and to get a taste of how things are done differently in in those areas. Yes, yes. Now, Bonnie, I want to talk about students. We talked about recently or newly certified members. How, like let's say you meet someone who is thinking about this as a career, what kind of personality and personality traits do you think, like medical coderhouse? They need a good attention to detail and the ability to block out distractions because life is distracting. And then your good background in your medical terminology, your anatomy and physiology, and understanding, being able to read is a big one. Oftentimes I'm seeing that people aren't reading well and so they are not able to code well because they're not comprehending what they're reading. Okay, yeah, that's great advice. This is someone who's very thorough. And one thing I hear is, you know, a lot of coders like to be, they feel like they're investigators. Yes. Yes, absolutely. And, you know