Just as in transcription, it can be difficult to get a job in coding if you don't have experience. That is because many courses, even college programs, don't prepare students to code on the job. They prepare them only to begin learning on-the-job in coding. They teach the basics and they sometimes do it in a disjointed fashion, so that the students cannot put it together when they graduate. I can tell you that about 18% of all coding jobs are vacant because employers cannot find coders to fill them. I can also tell you that employers will hire a new coder if they believe that the coder can code well enough to warrant training (and they have the resources to spare on it).
At the institution where I am employed, we have about 30 coders, and 10 of the last 12 or 13 hired had no experience--just a college-level coding program. They weren't even certified.
Experienced coders are hard to find, so employers sometimes have to take inexperienced coders. "Growing your own coder" is now becoming popular in coding--it refers to the increasingly popular practice of an institution taking an existing employee and training them to code in an on-the-job or combined school/OJT program.
Don't let the "experience" requirement stop you from applying! Apply anyway. One thing some new coders have found helpful is to volunteer at a hospital, through the volunteer office, asking to work in medical records or coding. Once they know you, they're more likely to hire you. And, you get experience in the process.
You already work at a hospital which employs coders, though! You shouldn't have this problem, because you already work there and they know you.
I would go to their head coder and explain your interest in coding. Tell her/him that you'd like to learn coding, but you're concerned about the job opportunities. They will be able to suggest some things for you.
Coding is very interesting work and it's in high demand. Pay can be excellent, but, as you've noted, the low end of coding might be less than the high end of transcription, so you might take a little downturn for a few years (same with any new career). The median salary, I believe, is now at $40,000 and it goes up with certification.
Certification in coding is held in high regard, to the point that it is considered almost essential. It is what pushes you into the higher pay ranges, so you need to plan with this in mind.
Coding from home is becoming a reality, but it's not here quite yet. There are computer issues and medical records issues that have hampered it, as well as some fears about confidentiality. If your institution is already doing it, they're probably amenable to it, but you cannot expect to code from home yourself for several years. You simply need to be around your coworkers and supervisors in order to gain experience and get some more knowledge under your belt.
I think that it would be sad if you decided not to pursue this further just because you were afraid of not being able to get a job or of a lower salary for a while.
At the very least, you should talk with the coding supervisor at your hospital.
You should also check out coding schools. There may be a college program near you, and that deserves a look, and there are online schools. I'm as prejudiced as Linda in thinking The Andrews School is exceptional, because I teach there. There are some online schools which are terrible, and some local and distance programs which don't teach very much at all.
The only way to get a good job coding, like a hospital job doing inpatient or outpatient, is to go to a school that teaches all of coding--not just an intro or overview.
Finally, learn enough about coding to see if it really appeals to you. Ask the coding supervisor if you can observe in her department for a few hours to see what they do. Get some materials online and read through them so you can see what the work would be like. Maybe the coders have some outdated books they can let you borrow.
You can get some basic training materials from most state Medicare websites. I'll give you one which has some useful things on it, and you can use them to get your feet wet FOR FREE! Those can keep you busy for a while, at least!
Go to www.floridamedicare.com. You'll have to read a disclaimer and click that you accept, and click to enter, and then you'll get the website. Once there, look around. Choose the "education" choice from the left side of the screen. Once you have that, choose the "education" choice that appears about in the middle of your screen.
That will give you a list of courses you can download. There is one for basic ICD-9 and one for CPT, and some others. Start with the ICD-9 or the CPT. If you can get a code book for either of those, start with whichever one you have.
These are pretty easy to read, because they're written for doctors and their staff. They're short! Full of information, but they're short.
The Advance website at www.advanceforhim.com has some excellent articles on coding (see the CCS Prep! column). The Coding Edge Newsletter, which was mentioned on another post recently (above or below this one?), is very good. It's at www.lagunamedsys.com. Click Coding Edge and Codig Edge Archives.
I'll bet your coding department will be happy to see you, and I'll bet they'll be interested in giving you some guidance. You might be surprised, too, to find that they'll even fund some training for you. Whether they do or not, you can learn a lot about coding on your own for free, and you can then decide if it's what you'd like to do.
I should warn you that some old-time coders like to scare people away! I am not sure why they do this, but it seems to be a well-entrenched tradition. Don't let them dissuade you too easily!
Definitely, though, coding is not something you should pursue if you dislike it! I hope you do enjoy it.
Be sure to come back and let us know how things turn out for you!
I should mention that coding goes well with transcription, so nothing you learn in coding will be "wasted" if you remain in transcription. You'll find that everything--and I mean EVERYTHING--you will learn will enhance your transcription ability! It's also good insurance against possible offshoring at your institution! Spread your eggs around in more than one basket, so you'll be prepared!
[ 01-24-2004: Message edited by: Peggy LaChance ]
