flynn043

I am part of a select group of coding professionals who have chosen coding as a first career. In my graduating class, I was the only "traditional" college student - starting an HIM program right out of high school. The others in my class were stay-at-home moms returning to the workforce or people looking for a change in career. Today I see more and more people seeking a second (or third) career and choosing coding. Over the last year I've watched my father look for a new job after giving 35 years as a machinist to a manufacturing company. Last year, his company moved operations out of the country and laid off hundreds. And as he goes on interview after interview, it's unfortunate to see that his 35 years of experience is not seen as an asset, but rather as a method to "do the math" and see when he might be ready for retirement. I am happy to report that my father was recently offered a job and starts next week. We all have our fingers crossed that this...

Last month I attended the AHIMA conference in Grapevine, TX. One of my favorite things to do at the conference is to attend the exhibits - not because I really want to buy something from every vendor, but because I find it's the best place to network and catch up on the industry's latest trends. This year, I focused on some key areas - mainly ICD-10 (for work) and education (for me and for all of you). In talking to some of the schools represented at the exhibits, I realized a lot has changed since I graduated and took my RHIT exam. Of course, I already knew this, but I never really thought about how different it is to network into a new position in this new educational system. As students seek out more online education opportunities and medical records move to an electronic format, schools are able to set up virtual labs to closely mimic the real world. The unfortunate drawback to this is that as a society, we've become so "virtual" that employers are seeing...