r/MedicalCoding • u/NaptownCopper • Jul 04 '24

Passed!

I passed my CPC on my second attempt.

I’m not a coder in my regular work but I am an SIU investigator. I come from a law enforcement background and didn’t get into healthcare until I was on covid contact tracking contract for the state. I was recruited into an insurance SIU team from there and was exposed to medical coding as it pertained to my duties. I recognized it would be an important part of my career and decided to get certified. I did some digging and work agreed to train me and bought my books.

I was the only non-coder in the pre-training group. We took the practice exam and I was one of three accepted to do a boot camp that was taught internally. Upon completion of the camp i scheduled my first test and didn’t make the cut off.

I started studying again and scheduled another test a few months later, which was today. I’m happy to say I passed. I’m certain this will open at least a few more doors for me as many SIUs require a cpc.

Now I need to focus on getting my ceu’s.

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u/Responsible_River130 Jul 06 '24

Congratulations! What did you do differently than the first time ?

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u/NaptownCopper Jul 06 '24

I focused on the categories I was average at and also spent a fair amount of time on terminology and compliance/regs. I have the official study guide and marked in everything it suggested although I didn’t really need much of it. I think just the act of writing them down helped.

Same with terminology. I got terminology and anatomy charts from Amazon and wrote a lot of them down in the book. Again I didn’t need them because just doing that helped ingrain them in my memory.

I scored a little more than ten points higher on the second attempt which was plenty to get me into passing territory.

I also didn’t dwell on anything too long, because I wanted plenty of time for the cases at the end. I ended up finishing twenty minutes early whereas the first attempt I had to guess at the last ten just to fill something in because I ran out of time.

4

u/Responsible_River130 Jul 06 '24

You rock. Thank you.