# exam tricks-hello Ladies



## Simpson23 (Sep 2, 2011)

Hello All, I studied for about 3 hours and thought i could pass since i have lots of coding experience with an insurance company. i received a 63%. bummer any advise other than to study more?  there must be some secrets to pass this test. Thanks and God bless.
sinsonp@gmail.com


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## LADY_SETSUNA_CJ (Sep 2, 2011)

1. TAG your book... this way you can go straight to the codeset/appendix you need.

2. HIGHLIGHT, HIGHLIGHT, HIGHLIGHT!! 

3. Don't look up the answers in the index go straight to the tabular and look up the options your given. 

4. Don't spend more than 2 minutes per any one question. 

5. You can write in your book!! As long as its not taped/stapled/pasted in your good. So if there's something your struggling with write it down. 

6. Know your modifiers.

7. Know your terminology, it'll help.

8. If you don't know the answer, mark it in your booklit then 'guess' an answer, if you have time at the end go back to the question and try again. Remember an answer is better than no answer, at least with a guess you have a 1 in 4 chance of getting it right should you run out of time and be unable to go back. Also if you receive your minute warning and you have answers not filled in... fill something in! Do NOT leave your unanswered questions blank. 

9. Don't second guess yourself!!! Often your first instint is the right one.

10. PRACTICE!!! Personally, I purchaced the practice test from the AAPC. They were very similar to the actual test. It's timed and it allows you to retake the test as often as you like. It also has tortorials for the answers you missed that way you may better understand what you're doing wrong and fix it.

GOOD LUCK!!!


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## phchza (Sep 5, 2011)

*Thanks for the tips*

I am taking my CPC exam at the end of the month.


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## kmayes (Sep 6, 2011)

I studied for hours too a few days and the day before the test.  I have 12+ years coding experience and I made a 68 the first time.  I'm scheduled to test again begining of month and I have taken all the above advice.  I will take a highlighter and mark in my exam booklit as I didn't the first time.  I also have gotten the online practice exams and study guide.

Good luck!


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## YPUllom (Sep 9, 2011)

I used practice tests too.  My employer actually bought me a couple of different ones since I was hired on the condition that I get the CPC within 6 months.  I made extra blank answer sheets on the copy machine & did those tests over & over.
Also like someone else said... don't look through the index since it is multiple choice.  This is the only time anyone will tell you this!!  In real coding you always use the index but with multiple choice tests it saves valuable time if you look up the code choices provided in the tabular.  Often you can eliminate at least one or two of the answer choices off the bat because of obvious things such as not coded to highest specificity or a code that doesn't exist. Then you just have to carefully choose between the ones that you weren't able to eliminate for obvious reasons! 
Making notes all over your book is great too.  For me just having written the note to myself in the first place helped me remember better even without having to go back & read what I had written.  Anything you are confused about or that you have made a mistake on in the past...make a note in the margins to remind yourself!
Also don't pay attention to how others are doing.  Just because someone else seems to be getting through it faster than you doesn't mean they are doing better.  You won't want to waste time but you will want to take enough time not to miss important details


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