What Our Students Have To Say

The typical "life experience" of our Medical Coding students is extraordinary. Check out the quotes below:

I received an offer for a position I had interviewed for the day before graduation in June! It was such a sweet surprise and also was the first job I had sat for! I have found myself in a wonderful women's health practice in Seattle near to my home and with an office staff truly full of wonderful women. I have a range of responsibilities from processing claims and insurance payments, pre-authorizing surgical procedures, coding and creating claims for all surgeries, as well as other normal coding and billing office tasks like answering patient questions and filing formal appeals with third party payers when they are denying claims. The things I learned in the EvCC program have come in handy every single day! It was so amazing to be able to walk into a position and actually know what I needed to do and how to do it. I am putting my outpatient coding skills to work every day as well as helping to educate other staff members (as I am the first Certified Coder they've ever hired!). With this position has come more income and for the first time in almost 5 years I am experiencing the stability of having 1 full time job! Since my late teens (over 10 years ago) I have worked 2+ jobs trying to make ends meet. I have finally arrived at 'adulthood' and could not be more excited. Again; I would not be here without you both. EC (graduate of MC and MBS programs)

I'm really glad to see you're one of the program advisers! I'm even happier that you remembered me, lol. I am still with Entrada to this day, although we have been acquired by NextGen now, so we're part of NextGen's mobile documentation team. I've also been promoted several times since the internship and as a contractor, and I am proud to say I am happily employed as a senior QA and have been for almost a couple years now. I wouldn't be here if it were not for my successful training and education through you and the other instructors at EvCC, so it is very natural for me to gravitate back 'home' at Everett to pursue expanding my skill set with the Medical Coding program. I think it would be a nice egg to have in my basket, so to speak.  -CH

Being a mother of three, this program has allowed me to further my education from the comfort of my home. When finished I will be able to obtain well paid position in a lucrative career. Without this long distance program I'd be unable to further my education. I now am able to think about a debt free future rather than an in debt one. Thank you Everett!!!!!!! JM

It is really difficult to share just one great experience with you about the school and the staff. I have had nothing but a wonderful experience throughout the last 10  months. I know that I will achieve nothing but great things because of the support of the staff.  BG

I think the Coding program at EVCC is great, it is difficult but very informative and I will be confident when applying for positions in that field when I graduate. The instructors are very helpful they have asked for and listened to input from the students concerning the curriculum. CK

EvCC's on-line Medical Coding Program has a great instructional design. The teachers are readily available and easy to contact. Great student support system. I believe my money was well spent and I received a valuable education. I would recommend EvCC's on-line Medical Coding Program. SP

My instructor managed to send positive energy while I only ever got to know her online.   It was contagious and certainly made an impact during the days when I was struggling to get through class.   Not many can portray a great personality while only working through forums and email!  MG

Everett Community College is making an education possible for me. I am a full-time working single mother of 2 kids with Autism and time is very limited for me. It was an answer to my prayer finding the medical coding program offered as a 6-quarter option as well as financial aid and with this option I am able to juggle college as well as my busy life. I am blessed to be here and through this program I am going to broaden my career options from a medical transcriptionist to a medical coder. Thank you Everett for making this possible.  DS

We recently asked our students why they chose EvCC.  Here are some of their responses from an anonymous survey:

• I enjoy the people and the campus at EVCC.    I knew that by choosing to take that MC Program at EVCC will give me a quality education.
• The program is one year - which seems just the right amount of time.    Anything shorter seemed rushed, anything longer - not the pace I work best at.  The EvCC website provided enormous information that was very helpful and made it very easy to simply register and get going.  
• I checked out a few MC programs. EvCC was rated one of the best on-line MC programs in the Northwest.   
• I work for a health insurance company where I deal with medical claims on a daily basis, so I wanted to have a better understanding of coding and potentially migrate to another career.
• I chose the MC Program at EvCC because it is online, it accepts Military Educational benefits, and it's on line hours are flexible.   I researched 4 other coding schools before choosing Everett.  
• EvCC is convenient and cost-effective to attend. I got my GED through the college in 2004 and had a very positive overall experience during that time. Lastly, I've heard great   things about the MC program here and am confident that it will provide me with the skills needed to meet my learning and career goals. 
• I am able to use Pell grant and my GI Bill on a schedule that works for me.    All the local programs were at night and I can't do that with 4 busy kids.  
• I choose EvCC because I  was looking for a good MC school and EvCC was rated one of the top five in the western U.S. for their online MC program.  
• I looked at other MC programs and classes at other community colleges and EvCC had the best program offered! 
• Online learning, no classes to physically attend, structure of the program itself, as Career Step has a great reputation for the field and I was glad EvCC was utilizing their online program.
• Online program with AHIMA accreditation that accepted the GI Bill.

And we asked the same students what their goals are.  Why are they pursuing a medical coding certificate?

• Adding to my current knowledge in the workplace (large hospital system) and further my billing/charge capture role at the hospital in which I work.
• To be part of the medical community and provide assurance in regards to accurate and timely completed work.  Very analytical and love to figure things out.    
• Transition from clinical nursing to office nursing/coding
• Use it to support my family. Eventually get a degree in Healthcare Administration. 
• To continue on toward a Bachelor's Degree in Health Information Management.
• My goal in becoming an MC is to work at a hospital coding for outpatient and eventually inpatient claims.
• Widen my skillset so not pigeonholed by my previous experience... Obtain training in a career that has fast growing opportunities and seemingly few geographical restrictions...
• I enjoying being a Medical Biller right now, but I would love to learn more about the coding aspect and become certified. Eventually, work for a hospital or help my physician better.
• My goal is to get the education and certification needed to become a MC and continue moving forward in medical administration.
• To create a long-term career (and not just a job) in the healthcare industry, getting a less physically intensive career.
• To do something that matters and be good at it. Be good at my job and make a career for myself.
• My goal is to have a decent paying profession and job security. I want to ultimately work my way up to becoming an inpatient coding specialist.

Who are our students?

The EvCC Medical Coding students come from all across the country.  While the majority of our students come from Washington state, we have students residing in 37 of the 50 states.  We've had students join us from overseas - you don't need physical access to the campus but rather a reliable connection to the Internet.  

Most of our students are female, but each quarter we have progressively more men in the mix.

The average age of our students is 36, with a breakdown of ages in the past year as follows:

Our students come to us with a wide variety of educational backgrounds ranging from GEDs and high school diplomas on up through bachelor's and master's degrees.  We have students with diverse military backgrounds.  We have students with training and experience in a wide variety of trades, including both healthcare related and not. We have students with no experience in the working world at all; we have students who are working while they go to school and those who are not.  We have students with families of all sizes, ones who are single-parenting, and ones who are care-givers.  

We are enthusiastic about the diversity of our student body, and are proud to support all our online students as true Everett Community College students!