Wiki Should I Keep Renewing My Membership? (No Longer in a Coding Role)

Should I Keep Renewing My Membership? (No Longer in a Coding Role)

  • Yes

    Votes: 7 87.5%

  • No

    Votes: 1 12.5%
  • Total voters
    8
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jrper

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Hello all,

My renewal date has once again come and gone and I have of course renewed my AAPC membership for another year. This coming year, however, will be my second year of not utilizing my CPC certification to it's fullest in my current job role. Last January, I started a new job as a systems analyst for an Epic application team within my current health system, Ambulatory to be specific. While the knowledge I have obtained through the CPC course and 3 years as an analyst for the health system's Revenue Integrity team has helped me in this role, I am stuck in a rock and a hard place when it comes to continuing my certification. The role does not require nor reimburse membership/certification dues and with the ever growing cost of membership I am wondering if it would still be worth it to continue. Although I do not see myself entering back into the world of Coding anytime soon, the real 'pro' of continuing the membership would be not having to take the grueling test again. Are there things I could be taking advantage of in terms of perks or features beyond what is I am doing now?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
 
tough call.

every time I, or someone I know, considers letting their AAPC membership expire, I just think that if something comes up and you need that membership/certification, "would I be willing to sit for the exam again?".

I would say, if you think there is any chance that you may return to a role that required coding certification (and you can afford it), I would keep the membership.
 
It's really such a personal decision. What directions are you planning to pursue in your career down the road, and will having a certification help you attain that role?

That can be hard to predict in a constantly changing field like healthcare, but you probably have some idea of the future paths that you want to take. Would you want to take the exam again if it came down to it?

I've been in healthcare for over 20 years and have worked in a variety of roles. The majority of my career has been spent in analyst roles. (I was basically a revenue integrity analyst for years, before the title "revenue integrity analyst" even existed. I had about 4 different titles doing that job, until the industry seemed to have settled on revenue integrity being the standard title.)

I still look forward from time to time and think "what role might I want to hold X years from now?" I browse current job postings for those roles to identify any training/certification/education gap that I might have, and look for things I can do now to set myself up for those roles in the future.

For me, I will always keep my certifications until I retire, because I can see that they could be a benefit for roles I might want in the future. (Even roles I might want to grow into that aren't specifically hands on coding roles.)

Your answer might be different, and that's okay too. It just depends on the path you want to take.

Good luck to you!
 
I personally would keep it regardless. I also might try (if you haven't) to plead my case with the employer (especially if it was a big health system) that they should cover my membership dues. Show how your knowledge, education, experience, CEUs and certification impacts your current Epic role. I think there are some connections to make. If they already cover the Epic training and certifications like that it may be difficult.

If you really would "never-ever-ever" use your certifications again I guess I could see letting it go. Do we really ever know for sure though? Better to keep it up just in case in my opinion.
 
why do you lose your certification just because you don't keep AAPC membership dues ? I mean you pass that exam , you have the credential, but lose it from not continuing with the organization? So you would NOT be a certified (say CPC) and able to say so for future jobs?
Thanks for any input as I am new to this organization
 
annettegiardino@yahoo.com said:
why do you lose your certification just because you don't keep AAPC membership dues ? I mean you pass that exam , you have the credential, but lose it from not continuing with the organization? So you would NOT be a certified (say CPC) and able to say so for future jobs?
Thanks for any input as I am new to this organization
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Yes if you don't pay your dues you are no longer a member of AAPC, so you lose your credential. If you lose your credential you have to take the four to five hour test all over again to get it back. You cannot keep your certification for future jobs if you let dues lapse.
 
I would say keep renewing your membership. You probably worked so hard for that exam - don't let it go just yet. I know it's easier said than done but you never know when an opportunity will present itself and you no longer have the certificate.
 
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