# position title questions



## LSpangler (Jun 4, 2008)

I am planning my next career steps after I take (and pass) the CPC exam soon.   I will be an apprentice.   I am currently working as a cancer registry associate doing follow-up work in a large hospital and would like to stay with that hospital (but will consider doctor practices, too).   I have been in this position for about 6 months and it is the first job in my new career after 25 years in the animal care profession (i.e. I am middle-aged).

My questions are would a biller be a good next step?   Is a chart analyst or an auditor a position to go for before a coding job or are these positions more for an experienced coder?  

Laurie


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## rthames052006 (Jun 5, 2008)

LSpangler said:


> I am planning my next career steps after I take (and pass) the CPC exam soon.   I will be an apprentice.   I am currently working as a cancer registry associate doing follow-up work in a large hospital and would like to stay with that hospital (but will consider doctor practices, too).   I have been in this position for about 6 months and it is the first job in my new career after 25 years in the animal care profession (i.e. I am middle-aged).
> 
> My questions are would a biller be a good next step?   Is a chart analyst or an auditor a position to go for before a coding job or are these positions more for an experienced coder?
> 
> Laurie



Congrats are in order for you Laurie..

My question that I ask you is "What do you want to do".  Where does your passion lie... do you want to be a biller/chart analyst or an auditor.  It all depends on you weather or not what would be a "good next step".

What is your goal? We all have differant paths we want to follow and how we choose to get there.

For me personally I started as a business office clerk, then went to billing DME then went to collections then to biller, I decided after about 5 years of billing that I wanted to be a certified coder to see what doors that opened up for me.  I continued to work for an Internal Med practice 3 in the capacity of a biller which was ok, then I thought I want to "be a coder" when I say that it is that I had the "mentality" that a coder was a "production coder" coding from op notes and after applying for every "production coder" position and not getting those jobs I sat back and reflected that I don't need to be  a "production coder" coding from op notes to be classified as a coder.

I finally left my IM practice and went to a Family Practice/Peds office being a billing manager and I am quite happy with my choice, I do coding of small procedures they do in the office mostly the 10000 series of codes and I am happy with that.

So I guess my answer to your question is still "Where does your passion lie".

Hopefully you will figure it out and it will come to you eventually.  It took me almost 4 years to realize where I wanted to be and I am happy with my decision.

Best of luck to you.


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## kevbshields (Jun 5, 2008)

Cancer registry is a budding field and according to some sources will suffer a large-scale retirement very soon.  Coding is a good "sister" career to registry positions and carry comparable respect, job outlook and involvement in HIM.

Look into tumor registry as a possible career path.  It's one that's frequently overlooked in coding education and other areas where our future candidate pools come from.

Good luck.


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## LSpangler (Jun 5, 2008)

I do know what work environment I like:  quiet, minimal confrontational situations, I also get a lot of satisfaction out of working on large lists or piles of paperwork that others might consider "tedious" work.    I also like a predictable routine to my day.    I must say after years of working with animals and humans I have found a nice comfort zone in this field although I miss my furry friends.  I find my current job very low-stress and satisfying right now, but feel I will want to grow and move up eventually.

So how does "production" coding, billing or chart analyst fit in with those factors?

I am just now getting to know coders in my local chapter, but am so new that I haven't met enough to get into the details of what they do yet.

Going backpacking for the weekend   so will check in later.

Thanks!


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