Chugging along

I am working hard on my Medical Coding course but the more I get into it, the more my brain hurts! LOL! It started out pretty simple, as it probably should have. But as I got further into the lessons, I felt like my head was spinning.

Granted, I read about things I'd already known but then there were more details about things I'd heard about but didn't really understand. The sample tests kept bringing up drugs used to treat certain conditions, and I would have to go back and scour the material to see what they were referring to. I started making flashcards and now I'm paying attention to the drug names as well. And this started about halfway through lesson 1!

I've made it through the first section, which had 4 lessons of about 3-4 sections each. My tests over each section have been between 80% and 95%. I can take each test twice, and I did with two but not with the other two. I figured a B was decent. I do print off each exam so I can use it for study material.

I just started the second section and it's already way different than the first. This time there is no material to read through on the screen, exactly. It is actually slides with a voice reading it out, tabs to continue to the next slice, and each part has a small exam where I have to fill in the answers rather than do multiple choice. I've done one part already and in order to have the material so I can look it over later, I type or copy it into a word document and print it off.

I've also changed how I did the flashcards I've made. At first, I was going to have all of it in alphabetic order, but I realized that I'd have to keep reorganizing it as I went along. Seemed like more of a hassle to me. So, I decided to just alphabetize flashcards for each individual section. So now I have binders with tabs marking each section. The downside? I'm going to have a lot of binders as the last section I completed had a LOT of terms I wrote down! The number of terms I'd take note of grew more and more the further along I got. I can only imagine how much it would grow as I continue.

Right now, I'm in the section for Body Systems and Medical Terminology 2. Future sections (so far) will cover Pathology and Pharmacology and Electronic Medical Records. As I get into those, I may discover more sections. I wish my brain could absorb all this like a sponge so I wouldn't keep second guessing myself.

I kind of wish I had a study group now. So, I can discuss things and find a way to make them stick in my brain. I do plan on make a lot of notes in the books when I purchase them prior to the exam. I'm thinking about how I'll do the exam, whether at home with a webcam or go somewhere. I'm actually leaning towards doing it at home with a webcam because I think I'd be less nervous. But I have time to figure that out.

I really hope I can get a job after this because I really need to feel like I'm helping out more at home. Financially, at least. My biggest fear is the entry level jobs that want experience AND my age. I feel my age has been one of the biggest obstacles for a long time in finding a job. I admit I did try to get on disability (I have bad arthritis in my knees which means I can't be on my feet for long, I have bad anxiety, and I'm diabetic) but not having worked in 10 years makes it difficult. I applied but never heard anything. It's been over 6 months. I can get around it if I get medical evidence but it's not easy to do. I don't think doctors are keen on providing documentation for disability. At least, that's how it appears to me. I can't get Social Security for at least another 10+ years, either. So that's why I'm doing the Medical Billing & Coding program. I need to at least try! My dad always tells me that you don't know if you will or won't succeed at anything if you don't try. Kind of like playing the lottery. Can't win if you don't play!

So, I'm keeping on keeping on. I can't say what the future holds for me, but I can at least say I'm working on making it a better one.

God Bless!