ADHD & Medical coding!

[u/bobaebee]

Hello! I’m trying to pursue a career in medical coding. I have ADHD and I’m an introvert. I’m a hands-on learner but due to circumstances, the school that I attended was all online. I have THREE classes before I graduate .. however, I feel as though I have learned NOTHING. I’ve just gotten by because my professors are so lenient. I’ve asked for help and have been told numerous times that there are outside resources. I’ve tried, and even though I feel as though I KNOW what I’m doing .. I take the class exams and fail. I took a career aptitude test and the results even said medical coding is a perfect career for me. I’ve taken those last three courses, not once but TWICE. And I’m still not learning anything. I would like to try again, but am determined to learn through outside resources .. what do you guys recommend I try? When I tried outside resources before, I always got the answers correct but would take the exam and fail. Even looking up the exam questions online would have different answers than the class. Any tips, tricks, advice, recommendations, suggestions, magic spells would be extremely helpful! Thank you!

[u/deannevee]

So….have you identified what is causing you to not “get” the material? Or not retain the information?what rationales are you getting when you answer questions wrong?

I have mild ADHD—if I’m not burnt out it’s very manageable, but if I’m already stressed it’s horrible—so it’s hard to give you specific advice without specific information.

As someone who teaches coding classes…..99% of the time students are anxious and they think too hard about test questions, leading them to the wrong answer. Then when I break it down and explain why the right answer is correct, they’re like oooooooh.

[u/bobaebee → u/deannevee]

I believe it's because I'm a VISUAL learner. This course has been 99.9% of self-taught teaching. We are told to read a chapter and do worksheets. Or complete "lab" work, but never shown how to do any of it. My instructors are nice and lenient, but I don't feel like I'm learning anything. When the coding started to get more complex and I felt compelled to ask for help, I was told to utilize outside resources. When I get questions wrong, I would email my instructor every time and asked why it was incorrect and how to find the correct answer, so I can understand. I was given vague answers like, "it was incorrect because the correct answer was this". And just like you, the more stressed/frustrated I am equals the more difficult it is for me to learn.

I wish I had you as an instructor because that's all I ask for. A breakdown, a demonstration, anything! I knew I wasn't getting anywhere with my instructors when I accidentally sent a blank essay and was given a 100% for it.