Coding Certification “CPC Exam” Time Management Tips
I’ve been teaching medical coding and preparing students for coding certification since 1999. Many coding certification prospects that have come to my review class have said they took a medical coding course, attended a coding certification boot camp etc. and still did not pass the CPC exam. For those students it is no longer a matter of studying – it is about how they take the test.
For the CPC exam (Certified Professional Coder) sponsored by the AAPC (AAPC) you will have to pass a 100 question exam in 4 hours (240 minutes). The CPC exam is pass/fail – not about getting an A. Therefore you need to make sure you go through the CPC exam several times so you can answer the easier questions quickly and leave the more difficult ones for last. For that taking practice exams will help you to get used to the actual format of the test.
Coding Certification (CPC Exam) Time Management Strategy
Coding Certification Exam Method 1: Multiple Passes
Answering an easy peasy medical terminology question carries as much weight as a time consuming surgical question. Your goal with this method is to go through the exam three times. The first time you answer all of the easy questions first, the second time you focus on the medium difficulty ones and the third time you answer the difficult ones.
Coding Certification Exam Method 2: Time allocation plan
As you have to complete 100 questions in 4 hours that is 240 minutes. So you have approximately 2 minutes per question on average. Spending around 2 minutes on each question can get you more time on difficult or challenging ones.
Coding Certification Exam Method 3: One Dot – Two Dot Rating
Use first 10-15 minutes to go through entire exam so that you can answer the most straight forward one and mark the difficult ones. You can mark or flag two dots if you feel it is a very hard, time consuming question, and one dot for a medium difficulty one. Don’t over think it – just go by your gut feeling. Now when it’s time for your second pass you just focus on the one dots – you don’t have to reassess the questions. And on the third pass – you guessed it – you are going to focus on the two dot questions.
Coding Certification Exam Method 4: Final Pass
Don’t leave any CPC exam questions unanswered. Use the last minutes to guess at an answer on any unanswered questions. You have a 25% chance of getting it right without even looking at the question. Of course if you’ve looked at the question and thrown out an answer or two indicate that on your answer grid so now you may have a 50/50 chance of getting the answer right.
Coding Certification Exam Method 5: Eye on clock
You should keep an eye on the clock and regularly check that you are on track. That is after 2 hours you should have completed half of your exam. Make sure you don't spend too much time on a question, if you couldn't find the answer just make a guess and move on. There will be a 25% chance of getting it right.
Coding Certification Exam Method 6: Answering technique
From the choices provided you can completely eliminate the wrong answers so that you can reach to correct answer quickly. Also make sure to read the questions carefully highlight the key words given which can be found in the codes.
Most importantly, stay calm and focused during the exam.
I’ve been teaching medical coding and preparing students for coding certification since 1999. Many coding certification prospects that have come to my review class have said they took a medical coding course, attended a coding certification boot camp etc. and still did not pass the CPC exam. For those students it is no longer a matter of studying – it is about how they take the test.
For the CPC exam (Certified Professional Coder) sponsored by the AAPC (AAPC) you will have to pass a 100 question exam in 4 hours (240 minutes). The CPC exam is pass/fail – not about getting an A. Therefore you need to make sure you go through the CPC exam several times so you can answer the easier questions quickly and leave the more difficult ones for last. For that taking practice exams will help you to get used to the actual format of the test.
Coding Certification (CPC Exam) Time Management Strategy
Coding Certification Exam Method 1: Multiple Passes
Answering an easy peasy medical terminology question carries as much weight as a time consuming surgical question. Your goal with this method is to go through the exam three times. The first time you answer all of the easy questions first, the second time you focus on the medium difficulty ones and the third time you answer the difficult ones.
Coding Certification Exam Method 2: Time allocation plan
As you have to complete 100 questions in 4 hours that is 240 minutes. So you have approximately 2 minutes per question on average. Spending around 2 minutes on each question can get you more time on difficult or challenging ones.
Coding Certification Exam Method 3: One Dot – Two Dot Rating
Use first 10-15 minutes to go through entire exam so that you can answer the most straight forward one and mark the difficult ones. You can mark or flag two dots if you feel it is a very hard, time consuming question, and one dot for a medium difficulty one. Don’t over think it – just go by your gut feeling. Now when it’s time for your second pass you just focus on the one dots – you don’t have to reassess the questions. And on the third pass – you guessed it – you are going to focus on the two dot questions.
Coding Certification Exam Method 4: Final Pass
Don’t leave any CPC exam questions unanswered. Use the last minutes to guess at an answer on any unanswered questions. You have a 25% chance of getting it right without even looking at the question. Of course if you’ve looked at the question and thrown out an answer or two indicate that on your answer grid so now you may have a 50/50 chance of getting the answer right.
Coding Certification Exam Method 5: Eye on clock
You should keep an eye on the clock and regularly check that you are on track. That is after 2 hours you should have completed half of your exam. Make sure you don't spend too much time on a question, if you couldn't find the answer just make a guess and move on. There will be a 25% chance of getting it right.
Coding Certification Exam Method 6: Answering technique
From the choices provided you can completely eliminate the wrong answers so that you can reach to correct answer quickly. Also make sure to read the questions carefully highlight the key words given which can be found in the codes.
Most importantly, stay calm and focused during the exam.
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