STUDENT RESOURCES

Here is a list of some of our favorite resources for AAPC students! 

If you're not yet enrolled in a medical coding program, we highly recommend the AAPC Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT) programs!

Some students find themselves in a hurry to get through a medical coding course so they can be certified and get a cushy work from home job, then are overwhelmed when the coursework proves more difficult than they expected. It's important to understand that medical coding is a career choice that requires intense training and ongoing education, including (for some) learning a whole new language (medical terminology). 

It is common thinking that because the prerequisites aren't required at AAPC, that they aren't essential or necessary, which couldn't be further from the truth. 

Knowing human anatomy, medical terminology and pathophysiology are CRITICAL skills in medical coding. Coding isn't a data entry position. It involves taking a medical provider's notes for a patient and distilling them into a billable code for insurance. In order to perform this very important financial task, you must be well versed in the language of medicine.

If you do not have a clinical background already as a physician, nurse, medical assistant, etc, then these prerequisite courses should not be considered optional.

• Fundamentals of Medicine
• Anatomy
• Medical Terminology
• Pathophysiology

• New Member Resources - Orientation, free career development program and Ask A Recruiter!

• Blackboard Class Recordings (VILT) - Video recordings of the instructor led classes remain available to you for a few months after course completion. You can rewatch the lectures for any classes that you either had to miss or that you are struggling to complete. 

• CPC Certification Exam Review In Blackboard - there is a separate link in the My Courses screen for this extra prep course. It walks you through each section of  the exam and shows you the most common procedures and the most missed concepts on the exam, with examples. There is also a 15- question review quiz that you can take to practice. 

• Course Completion & Exam Scheduling Module - Within the CPC course on Blackboard, at the very bottom after all the chapter listings, there should be a module called Course  Completion & Exam Scheduling. This module will provide you with a pdf of exam tips and strategies, as well as information on scheduling  your exam date. 

• Practice Exams - Practice Exams are included in your AAPC VILT package! They are located on the AAPC website under Student Overview once you’ve  logged in. Take these…multiple times! 

• Selling You – Personal Career Development Series - Within Blackboard, after the chapter listings, you will find a 17-part optional video course. There are sample resumes and excellent  information on brand building, networking and interview prep. 

• Instructors & Teaching Assistants -  For VILT students, instructors and TAs are a valuable asset! Reach out with questions and plan to attend all extra classes, including office hours. 

YouTube is an excellent resource for medical coding education! It is particularly useful when you need a little extra information on a topic to aide in your understanding. The one caveat would be to be mindful of the date of the videos. Medical coding rules are always changing so an older video may provide outdated information

• Contempo Coding - Victoria is AMAZING! Her wealth of knowledge for CPC is so helpful! She also has great videos for exam strategies and job hunting, plus  a day in the life of a remote coder

               https://youtube.com/c/ContempoCoding 

• Medical Coding by Jen - Jen's channel is a favorite among students. She does free live videos walking through the CPT book and explaining procedures, notes for your books and has some paid content as well. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClBob_WeGpXFnZUvj-7QK2w 

• AMCI - Tons of helpful videos! The Saturday study sessions are full of practice questions

               https://youtube.com/c/AbsolutelyMedicalCodingLLC 

• Medical Coding Guild - Anna’s videos break down difficult concepts. She does more than CPC content so just choose what you need to watch. https://youtube.com/c/TheMedicalCodingGuild 

• Haughen Consulting - There are several very detailed and helpful videos. This is more topic specific (& they do PCS as well so be careful which videos you choose). https://youtube.com/c/HCGTVHaugenConsultingGroup 

• CCO - This company has many courses and review programs. Their videos are detailed. https://youtube.com/c/MedicalCodingCert 

• Code Master Coach https://youtube.com/channel/UCALCkrYiS7kwUgI7coBpVJg 

• Quizlet - website & mobile app that offers online flash cards. We cannot overstate how helpful it is to have flashcards when studying anatomy and medical terminology! You can customize how you review the information and sort your cards into classes/chapters/etc. Use them on your phone or device while waiting in carpool, at the doctor's office, before bed, etc to memorize the important information! Again, be wary of using other people's card sets that are based on questions from the AAPC study guides as information changes and some of those answers can be incorrect. Make your own or check the information against your books before using ready-made cards to study.

              Here is Stacy's quizlet from her CPC journey in 2021.   https://quizlet.com/join/NPz38YU2z 

• Google – While you never want to code directly from Google, it can be a great resource for learning about unfamiliar terms, how a procedure is done, or to point you in the right direction for coding. 

• CMS.gov – The CMS website has a lot of information available. It’s primarily applicable to Medicare or Medicaid but many payers follow the same rules. This is also where you would find information on NCCI edits.

Here is a link to the OG bubble, highlight and annotation philosophy. Stacy cannot recommend this highly enough for book notes leading up to the CPC exam. CCO provides notes for the ICD-10 CM guidelines and the entire CPT book. It is included in their classes or in their monthly membership. Just to prepare you, it takes a while to complete all the notes in your books. Use multiple colors of highlighters (sharpie highlighters work best without bleeding) and very small-tipped pens (Micron 0.1 and 0.3 are best). 

https://www.cco.us/bhat/  

To round out your iEYS to being a successful medical coder include: 

1. Understanding the guidelines,
2. Knowing how to use your tools (books/encoders/etc) to locate the correct code(s), &
3. Proficiency in anatomy, medical terminology & pathophysiology

In addition to the AAPC textbooks, these books may be helpful in providing further insight and/or education, but are not required. Amazon links are provided but often you may find these discounted or used on eBay or at used book stores.