Medical coder question.

[HONEYDEW1]

I have my RN(registered nurse) license from the state of Florida for the past 5

years.But here is my story.

I have my Bachelors in nursing and masters in maternity nursing

degrees from another country with 3 years of work experience in the field of

nursing education.After I came to US, I took the NCLEX exam(2003)

and got my RN license. But I never worked , since I stay at

home to be with my kids.Now I want to get back to work.I have

to take up refresher courses to get back to work.I am actively pursuing

different areas of nursing and health care and medical coding has piqued my interest, since I also have some back and knee issues.

Can someone please tell me if I have made a right choice?What are the scope

for this profession?Will I be able to land in a job as soon as I get a medical

coder certification.? My local community college offers

Medical Information Coder/Biller: Health Information Management course.

Is it good to take a course from a community college or from AHIMA?I prefer classroom courses to online courses since I have been out of work force for long.Does AHIMA and AAPC offer classroom courses too?

Please help me make a career choice and advise me on all the above issues.

Feel free to suggest other career choices that you think will suit my background.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

THe websites for the various schools should answer most of your questions, or just do it the old-fashioned way and give them a call. I wonder if there is more jobs being offered for coders vs. nurses, and if the pay difference could be an issue. If you want to work as a nurse why not talk to HR or the nurse manager for a maternal child dept to see if they could hire you as a tech till you finish the refresher course. Or maybe they have creative ideas on how to hire you and help you get your license updated. It all depends on the state's requirements. Good luck!

[CaseManager1947]

You could certainly pursue this, but in my view your skill sets are way overqualified for a Coder position. You might like to check out Mckesson's site, they used to have a qualification called "CPUR", but replaced it with something more generic. Lots of nurses are getting this credential now, and have become the experts on coding the chart. Several companies hire nurses just to travel the country and educate staff/physicians on the complexities of The Coding Clinic. I would encourage you to use your nursing expertise in a more expanded role, than just coding. Good Luck!