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Good luck!!  I finished half an hour early but had spent about 20+ minutes due to taking a break and then answering the same answer twice on the answer sheet.  I realized about 20 answers later that I was filling in the wrong number (I was 1 ahead!!).  I erased and back tracked but figured out where I had made the mistake :(

I totally agree about second guessing yourself.  I did go back and went over 2 answers I had marked where I just guessed between 2 choices.  I easily answered them when I was out of panic mode :)  It sounds like you probably did great, there really weren't a lot of "trick" questions I don't think, you just had to know the guidelines and apply them.  I easily passed even with that snafu, just under 90%.  I would have loved to have been in the 90's, but you only need 70 to pass :)  Let us know how you did!  I got my results the Thursday following the test.

How was it?  Harder/easier than you thought?  I'm in the middle of Module I, so it'll be awhile before I can take the exam.  Just thinking about it makes me nervous!!

Thanks, Janice! Glad to know that you finished early and passed with an awesome score! I hope I can say the same in a couple of days. It said "grading" at first and now it says "in transit to AAPC"...

Hi Emily!

It seemed much, much easier than I thought it would be. I can't really say if that is true until I know if I passed though! It may have seemed easier than it really was if I was just totally off track on everything, lol. Or, thinking more positively, Andrews just prepares us that well for these exams. I'm sure it's the latter! :)

Lauren

Good luck! As a newbie to this myself, it's nice to hear that you felt totally prepared...

Keeping my fingers crossed for you, but I bet you did great!  In the middle of Module 3 so I'm thinking about taking it in the near future.  I do the same thing, I second guess myself and then wind up getting the questions wrong.  

Thanks, Nicki!

I was surprised at how easily I understood the questions and knew where to look for the answers. I don't regret deciding on Andrews one single bit. It is well worth it! :)

Lauren

Thanks, Regina! I'm sure you'll do great too! Good luck!

Some of Instructor Debby's, as well as other students, tips that I used were:

I started at the back of the booklet and worked my way to the front.

I did reverse coding and used process of elimination.

I didn't need to skip over any questions, I spent a little extra time on a few questions, but was never to the point where I gave up and guessed.

I had my quiet snacks and drinks and went to the restroom before the exam started.

I dressed comfortably, but still looked presentable, you never know who you might meet!

When I came to terms that I wasn't completely familiar with, I used my ICD-9-CM to look it up to figure it out.

One thing that I wasn't prepared for was how sore my neck was that night! Sitting for 4 hours with your head bent over the books was a little physically taxing. I imagine that in the real world of coding, you would be looking up at a computer screen some/most of the time, and would be able to take mini-breaks, so this wouldn't be too much of an issue. If so, I suppose you get used to it! :)

The questions on the exams that you take in Module III are pretty much right there with what was on the CPC. I guess I was expecting full charts or something, but it's questions just like we answer throughout our studies. I am very glad that I decided on Andrews. It seems that the folks that take the AAPC course don't seem to get everything that we do and end up having to purchase those Blitz videos, or study guides, or practice exams. I'm sure those are good in their own right, but I think we get all of that from the get-go at Andrews.

This is all very encouraging to us who still have the test to take!  Thanks for all your positive thoughts and tips!  I have six sections left in Module III.  Would you go ahead and register for the test by now?  Or when did you get your AAPC membership?  Anyone else, feel free to answer how your circumstances went too.

Sara

Hi Sara,

If I can remember right... I think that I registered for AAPC and scheduled my exam about a month before my exam date, and I was probably about 2 sections away from finishing Module III. I gave myself a little extra time because I had to buy and study the ICD-9 book, since I had learned everything in ICD-10. It didn't seem too hard to understand ICD-9 at all. 

Now, take this all with a grain of salt because we still don't know if I passed yet! lol :)

Lauren

Thanks Lauren!  That's all good info!  Appreciate it!  I'll be thinking of you as you await your results!

Sara

Thanks for all the great info Lauren. I am halfway through Module III, just starting CCW Chapter 5, and this thread was very helpful. From the sound of it, you gave yourself about 3 weeks after completing Module III before you actually took the test.

One of my concerns was how much time I would need to review for the exam, as well as how much time I should give myself to learn ICD-9. Thanks again, and I'll be praying for you as you wait to hear your results.

Woohoo! I passed!!!!!! 83% :) :) :) I don't think I've been this proud of myself for quite a long time! Now on to the CCS!

Lauren Hoffman, CPC-A :)

Doing the happy dance for you!!

Thank you, Tamika!

Way to go Lauren! You give me much hope. Congratulations!!!!

Congratulations, Lauren!!!   Will you be going for your CCS next?

That is awesome!!!  Congratulations!!  All the hard work payed off!

Congratulations Lauren.   You must be so relieved.   I have 4 sections left to do on Module III so CPC is on my mind a lot.   All of the info provided in this discussion has been very valuable.   Onwards!

Congrats!!

Congratulations!!!!  You deserve to feel proud!!  Thanks for passing on your tips.  I'm actually starting to think I may be able to pull this off. ;)

Congratulations, Lauren!

Wow! Thank you so much, everyone! It is so rewarding to be a part of this tremendously supportive group. We are all in this together and we'll all succeed!

Yes, Linda, onward to the CCS! I am submitting my last exam for my first deadline in Module IV tonight. It is quite a change from outpatient coding, so I hope I'm on the right path... I aim to do outpatient coding as a career, so I'll make sure I get it one way or another!

Thanks again, everyone. You're all so great! :)

Congratulations, Lauren!!!!!

Onward to the CCS!  You are just starting your inpatient training so be sure and keep your options open. You never know where that first job offer is going to come from.

Hi Debby,

Thank you! You are so right, I would still be completely happy doing outpatient coding! I will keep my options wide open and break into the field however I can! :)

Congrats Lauren!! :D  You are my inspiration!  Being in the beginning stages, this is all still so new, and I can't imagine I would ever be ready for a coding certification exam haha..  Onwards and upwards!

Congratulations, Lauren. I do appreciate all you have shared. I am in Module 1 and getting apprehensive about the exam. You made me feel better about it!!

Congratulations Lauren!  Great job! You deserve to feel very proud, as you did really well!

Can you share with those of us preparing for the exam where you feel we should focus the majority of our time in our studies?   

Hi Stefanie,

Thank you!

In hindsight, here are a few things that I wish I had focused more on before taking the exam:

• Guidelines - both ICD and CPT, like knowing when you need to code something with something else, and when you can't code things together, etc.
• CPT - I struggled with this more than ICD during my studies, so I wish that I would've spent more time going back over the things I had missed on my Andrews exams. I personally felt like CPT was the biggest focus of the CPC exam.
• More notes in my books - the proctor checking my books made a comment that I barely had any. I told her that it was because I had been using ICD-10, but in all honesty, I really don't have that many notes in my ICD-10 book either, or my CPT. I guess I just never really got a good idea of the notes I should write down... I'm going to look into this a little more.
• Know when to code from CPT or HCPCS - this is something that I think that I have all figured out, and then find that I don't quite have it yet...

You've probably seen these same tips elsewhere... For me, I feel like these were the things that probably prevented me from getting a higher score. These are the things that I'm going to continue to work on. When you pass, you don't find out which sections you were lacking in, which I think is a little unfortunate, but I won't complain!

I hope that helps! :) Good luck!

Congratulations, Lauren!  You must be so excited!!  I'm in Module III, section 5 and you have given me hope and determination to study hard!  Thank you so much for all the great tips and good luck in your coding career! :)

Hi Lauren!

Thank you so, so much for sharing those tips!  It really does help! :)

I agree with you about the notes in books, as I hardly have any either and think I need to start making some notes to assist me better.  I have "starred" things, "highlighted" things, and "underlined" a lot, but not all THAT much.

Best of luck on the CCS too!!!

Congrats Lauren!

Thanks for posting those tips!  I'm in Section 7, and I have zero notes in either coding book.  I just don't know what I should be making notes about.  Glad I'm not the only one :)  Guess I better start looking into that as well.