Hello,
You need 2 year's of experience to remove the "A". Completing Practicode gives 1 year of experience. Completing the AAPC CPC online course itself gives one year of experience. Other than those two avenues, one must obtain actual coding experience at a healthcare setting to remove the "A".
In my case, I took the CPC online course (1 year 'experience'). I was fortunate to have a coding job at the time. So, when I completed one year of coding experience, I had my manager fill out a form (provided by AAPC) and had it sent to AAPC and POOF . . . my "A" was removed.
I got the coding job by first volunteering in the medical records department for almost 2 years (part time on weekends). That led to a per diem job as a medical scanner (another year). I passed the RHIT, CCA, and then the CPC in order to 'qualify' for the coding position (outpatient coder). It is a long road but seems to be the only way to enter the field unless you have extremely good contacts.
Good Luck!
Peace,
Junior