Wiki Second CPC attempt coming up and I am panicking

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Andyleed90

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Hello all,

Here is a little bit of background. I went through coding training in 2017, landed a coding job at my local hospital in January 2018. My new job requires that you get your CPC before your 1 year mark. I took my first attempt in March and got a 65%. I ran out of time and had to speed guess on 18 questions. Yeah, 18 questions. It was horrible, I left in tears.

My next try is in the middle of July. I bought the practice AAPC exams, I have been highlighting my guidelines, I also bought the CPC exam review. So here is my plan for this next try: I am going to start at the end. I am slow with some CPT sections but really quick with everything else so I was told my best bet would be to start in the back and work to the front. I am also going to NOT wear earplugs this time because last time I didn't hear the proctor say the 30 minute mark. I also got a hotel room right next to the hospital where the test is because I live an hour and a half away and I DO NOT want to risk anything going wrong. I have been seriously trying to study everyday. It's hard because I go to work at 6am and don't leave until 4:00pm and then after making dinner and packing lunches, I am absolutely exhausted so I really do try. I've been studying for months. So I have a few questions for you all:

1. How often did you study for your exam?
2. I keep seeing people recommending to read the answers first then the question. I am worried if I do that, I will forget which code is which and I will have to go back and look at the answers again after I read the question. Am I not understanding this tip right?
3. Any other advice?

I am absolutely petrified. I am a HORRIBLE test taker. All through high school and college all the way to now, my late 20s. I can't let my boss down, I cannot let my family down. Can you all tell I am sorta a mess? lol I took one of the 50 question AAPC exams and got a 72% so now I am even more worried. Granted I took the test right in the middle of horrible allergy attack and I couldn't see out of my right eye lol.

Thank you for any suggestions or calming me down :p
 
Wow, that's a lot on your plate! I wouldn't have the energy. I studied every day all day for at least 6 days a week but I was not employed elsewhere at the time. However, I did notice I could not put off test taking to the end of the day because I was mentally spent as I'm sure you are after a very long day of work already. It is all about the test taker you are. I know you know the material so if I were you I would focus on being a better test taker. Reading the answers first is not terrible advice. Start anywhere you want in the test, just make it something you know you know. Time is such a big element so try to do 25-30 (or about 3 blocks) of questions an hour. try not to waste time on any other thing, even snacking or bathroom breaks or freaking out :) do you have access to the CPC online exam review course? that is wonderful and very helpful at simply knowing how to take a test better. do you time the 50 question practice exams? they say an hour and fifty minutes should be the goal there. I saw where one person did all 3 back to back to make sure she could do the whole thing in 5 hours and 40 minutes. again, there is no doubt to me that you know the material and you've been through the test once so you know what to expect ......so just try and bang out ways to make the best guess at a multiple choice answer in the fastest time possible.... BEST OF LUCK to you!!
 
CPC Exam

Sorry to hear you are having such a difficult time. Do not panic. I studied for 9mos on my own, using the study book. Took the chapter tests and the end of book timed exam over and over, until I was blue in the face. I used index cards, so I could track my progress every time I retook them. Made sure I could maintain the time allotted and try to get better each time. I managed to pass the first time, albeit just barely. You can do this. Try not to get inside your own head too much. If you can afford it, take the practice exams on here. Just try to be mindful of how much time you spend on each question. You can do this! :)
 
I studied for about 4 months. Each night after the kids went to bed, I'd read a chapter in the study guide.
Also, make sure you do the practice tests (as many as you can) and condition yourself to not spend any more
than 2 minutes / question.
 
I had six practice tests on hand. I made sure twice, before I actually took the exam, that I took three different practice exams (150 questions) back to back within the 5 hours and 40 minutes time frame. Print the tests and an answer sheet (from CCO) to mimic the exact testing environment as close as possible. This way I made sure I was prepared pace wise, and if I needed snacks, restroom breaks, advil or any other distractions during the tests I knew how much time to allow for that.

The next step is to make sure you are getting an 80 (allows for nerves or blanking out etc...) or better on the practice tests.

I worked what people refer to as backwards I believe. I read the questions, then looked up the cpt codes (and Icd if needed) that were offered on the tests, then picked an answer from there. This method bypasses the alphabet index altogether. The other choice is to use the normal coding method which is start in alphabet index and go to tabular.

Because I had completed two practice tests of 150 questions within the 5 hours 40 min and passed them both with 80 or better, I went into the test confident and relaxed. Not all proctors do the time announcement. My did not, but I had set my silent alarm on my watch to go off every hour (sport watch) so I knew if I was on track time wise. You should be able to complete each 30 question section within just over an hour so you have to go back and finish any questions you skipped or were unsure of with the remaining.
 
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1. How often did you study for your exam?

I had a CPC review class for 6 weeks, and then studied guidelines and practice exams for another 6 weeks before my test date

2. I keep seeing people recommending to read the answers first then the question. I am worried if I do that, I will forget which code is which and I will have to go back and look at the answers again after I read the question. Am I not understanding this tip right?

Unless your name is Evelyn Wood, you absolutely do not have time to read every word of 150 questions. The CPC exam is more about test taking skills and logic and rule-outs than it is about actual coding knowledge

3. Any other advice?

I am absolutely petrified. I am a HORRIBLE test taker. All through high school and college all the way to now, my late 20s. I can't let my boss down, I cannot let my family down. Can you all tell I am sorta a mess? lol I took one of the 50 question AAPC exams and got a 72% so now I am even more worried. Granted I took the test right in the middle of horrible allergy attack and I couldn't see out of my right eye lol.

If you think you are a horrible test taker, then you are a horrible test taker. Make the test afraid of you, not the other way around. You are halfway to a failure before you ever set foot in the room if you think you will fail ahead of time
 
CPC exam

Hey I feel your pain! I took it 3 times and the 3rd time I finally passed.

1st time- I went through the whole thing front to back and answered all the ones I knew right away, then went back to the front and started there. I ran out of time and probably filled in bubbles on about 25 questions. Complete failure!

2nd time- I went through the whole thing front to back like before, and then started from the back and went to front. I ran out of time again but did much better, only filled in a few bubbles without reading the questions. I didn't feel great about it but didn't feel like I did as bad as the first time. Well my grade was worse the 2nd time!

3rd time- I should be a pro by now, HA! I went through the whole thing front to back like before, then I moved all around, I did all the sections I knew I was good at. I was all over the place front, back, middle, back to front! I finished this time and didn't have to just fill in bubbles! I didn't have time to go back and review the ones I wanted to go back to but I finished. It was a long 10 days waiting on the results. You feel so defeated!

Don't let it get you down, you will pass! I would recommend taking the 3rd times approach by moving all around doing sections you know you are good at. I took a highlighter with me and highlighted words in the questions, that helped a lot! I also took a calculator, you can have this. I didn't use it much but I used it. I did read some of the answers first and tried to eliminate any answers that I could, looking at modifiers, icd-10 codes, etc. I took lots of quiet snacks, eye drops bc my eyes dried out and I literally could not see to read at all! I wore a watch so I would keep up with how much time was passing. My biggest problem was taking too long on questions, don't spend too much time on one question, put the answer you might think it is and move on, and you can go back if you do have time.

I hope this helps, if you have any questions feel free to ask! Good Luck! My email is: jrogers@bergeye.com
 
test taking tips

(Little bit of background--I worked as a teacher for 10 years. Coding is my second career.)

Yes, a lot of it is more about taking a test than actual coding. I'm sure if someone hands you a chart, you'd be able to say "this, this, and this. Done. Have a nice day." Also, now that you've seen the test, you're familiar with the format. I mean, yes, if you did any practice exams, you knew already what it looked like. But our brains are a funny thing, and it still "seems" different the first time you sit down.

Something to know about the design of multiple choice tests. There is of course the right answer. Then there is an answer which is totally wrong, not even close. The other two items, the "distractors," are choices that have parts of the right answer, but there is something in there that makes it not 100% correct. So one thing to try is to look at the choices, and see which ones you can eliminate right away. If you read a problem, figure out how many codes you'll need. Like "okay, this one I need three codes." Any choices without three codes, you can cross off.

I know some folks are critical of "working backwards"--looking up the codes in your leftover choices. But as long as you read the excludes notes, the notes at the start of the section, and "code also" or sequencing notes, etc., then why not?

Best of luck to you!
 
After my AAPC coding course I purchased the CPC Blitz through Certified Coaching Org and it was worth every penny. I am 100% sure that I passed my first try because of that "bootcamp". They teach you techniques to take the test the most efficiently. When it was time for me to sit for my CPC, my entire CPT book was tabbed, highlighted, and groups of CPT codes circled. You really really need time on your side. Think about what you need to do to get to the codes as quickly as possible.

I also did the back coding. I would read the question and then start looking up the answers provided in the multiple choice selection. And since my book was so thoroughly marked I could quickly and easily get to where I needed. I wouldn't focus so much on whether you should take the test front to back or back to front. I would simply skip a question that seems like it may take a minute to work through. All of the questions are worth the same amount of points. Answer all of the ones that you can quickly answer and then come back to the ones that you aren't sure about or that will consume much of your time. Many many people end up having to guess on questions due to time constraints. I did. I think I had to guess on 10-15 questions. Make sure the ones you are guessing on are the ones that would have been time consuming or ones that you just weren't sure on. That way you are ensuring that the ones you DO know you're not having to make a hasty choice and chance getting it wrong.

One more piece of advice, any question on your exam can be answered by the books that you bring with you. I didn't even think about this prior to my test. I came upon a couple anatomy questions that I was unsure on and I panicked because I knew that I wouldn't be able to answer them with 100% certainty. But then I just thought to myself, how can I figure this information out using my books? I remembered there were illustrations in my ICD book and I was able to answer those questions correctly!

I firmly believe that you can be a great knowledgeable coder and fail the test multiple times. I also believe that you can be a lousy coder and pass on your first try. This test, like any other timed test, requires the appropriate test taking techniques to utilize your time efficiently. I bet every one of us could pass on our first try if we just had all the time in the world to complete it. Time management and organization in your books are two of the most crucial things in passing this exam. At least that is my opinion. You have been given some really great advice from other posters, I wish you the best of luck!
 
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