When I was in high school (we won’t say just how long ago that was), I got a job working in a small gift and clothing store and hence my retail career was born. So you’re probably wondering why I’m even on this website, let alone doing a guest blog! Well let me tell you! 🙂

After many years working my way up from store clerk, to store manager then all the way to District Sales Manager overseeing the northern half of Texas, I was finally fed up with the nonstop travel, dealing with irate customers and being responsible for everyone else’s work. I just wanted to do a job that was rated on my work alone.
Well as it happened I was flipping through a magazine one day and saw one of those “Work from home doing Medical Billing and Coding” ads ….you know, the ones that are seemingly everywhere nowadays. “Do you enjoy mysteries? Like to solve puzzles?” it asked. “Would YOU like to earn a great income and work from home???” Yes I yelled! Yes I would!

Well as we all know it’s not nearly as easy as the ads make it out to be. However, I was lucky, very lucky that I lived in Colorado Springs and so when I started researching the subject I was led straight to Medisense and consequently Linda Farrington. I sent an email asking question after question in an attempt to find out as much as I could about medical coding. Linda was very informative and helpful, guiding me to AAPC® and explaining the need for me to take both Medical Terminology and Anatomy & Physiology courses. She was always positive but never made it sound like it was a cake walk either.

So I signed up for online courses through AAPC® and got both completed while still working retail full time. I was able to complete those in time to enroll for the Coding class staring in January. It turned out to be the best thing I’d ever done in my life…well, career wise I mean, no offense to my hubby!

I’d never had a teacher as well informed and engaging as Linda was, and I just fell in love with coding! I finished up her course as one of the top in my class, probably a surprise to everyone considering I was the only one without ANY medical background. After passing the CPC exam I started looking for some place to complete an internship. I wasn’t having a lot of luck finding one until I got a call at work one day from someone I’d met through Linda telling me a company in Arizona was looking for about 2 dozen Certified Coders for a project they’d taken on and would I be interested? It took all of about half a second to say YES! I set up a phone interview and when she offered me a three month temporary position I accepted.

They arranged for training here in Colorado Springs and before I knew it I was finally working as a Medical Coder, from home even! Now I know there was a bit of luck involved in my story, and the timing could not have been more perfect BUT by working hard, learning everything I could, that 3 month temporary job has since blossomed into a wonderful new career for me that is now six years and counting, ultimately bring me to the here and now. Where exactly is that you ask? Well just last July I was promoted for the second time and now have the title of Quality Review Auditor and Coder. And hopefully come June will have my brand new Certified Risk Adjustment Coder certificate hanging on my office wall right next to my original Certified Professional Coder one.

So hey, do you like mysteries????

Patti Yagielski, CPC