Choosing Allen school has been one of the best decisions of my life. For years I had struggled with working dead end jobs and being laid off. I knew I needed to get some kind of college education. I tried some online classes through my local university, but balancing school and full time job was too difficult. I had to work extra to keep up with the hefty school bills added on to my already high cost of living. I tried to work out my struggles with school through my teachers but was either ignored or shrugged off as a bother. I failed those two classes, I gave up; it was so embarrassing. I am still ashamed of it.
In April of 2013 I decided enough was enough and left my home of seven years, Alaska, to move in with my parents in Virginia. Finding a decent online school was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I did about a month of searching. Then one day Shelly Campbell from Allen school called. She listened to my story and told me she felt Allen School was for me. We set up another meeting where she showed me a dream come true. I couldn’t believe my luck when I was told I was accepted for enrollment. Gayle Naftzger and Valerie Hampton worked with me to set me up with financial aide and a payment plan. They were so patient and so helpful.
June 10th I started Medical Coding and Billing courses online and was so impressed with how coopera-tive my teachers were. I email questions or call and they answer right away. Not only did I receive help from them but also my classmates. I admire my fellow students, the single parents, the ones fighting illness, going through divorces you name it they have overcome it to go to back to school. I’m proud to be called a student of Allen School; to learn beside these awesome people. I’m proud to say I am now carrying a 4.0 grade average at the end of my third module with a full time job. I’m proud of the education I am receiving, proud of my teachers. I am especially proud of the fact that because of Allen School when I graduate I will have the ability to reach my goals.
I sit here writing about my experience of the last year as I look at the matted and framed certificate on my wall — Lee Walker Certified Professional Coder. I went back to school after 18 years in automobile sales. I was very good at that, but I knew I wanted a stable career, income, and one that would challenge me. After quite a bit of research I decided on medical coding. All the news was saying that it is a job of stability, growth and that is what I wanted. Now for the school — where do I go, how do I apply, and can I get it done in a year or less? You have to understand, the last time I was in college Ronald Regan was president!!! This research brought me to Allen School of Health Sciences. The admissions office was fantastic in answering questions, telling me what I needed and getting me en-rolled, and financial aid assisted in finding me a grant to help with the cost, and explained the program. They were awesome. I went through this accelerated program and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. School was a JOB. I woke up to 5 days a week, showered, dressed, did my hair and make-up every day, because it was my job to do so. I created an office area with all the tools at my disposal, and a determination to be the best. In this kind of accelerated program you have to set goals, stay on top of them, be in class every hour of every day, sick or not, be there, it’s your job. Allen School has some of the best teachers, not only were they accessible to me, they let me explain and demonstrate to them how I came to conclusions and why. I had a wonderful support system, not just at home, but with my fellow students. Allow yourself to know other people going through this program, get in a study group, it helps and you also obtain friends from all over the country and world. Thank you Mike, Dana, Nancy, and Steve, I needed all of you. Later in the program I knew that I needed more than this education and certificate to get a job in this new field so I became an American Red Cross Volunteer at Womack Army Medical Center as a clerk in the Internal Medicine clinic. This experience helped me with how an office worked, software, patients, providers, everything that I would be exposed to in the real world after I finished school. So go and volunteer if you have time, it teaches you, and you get a chance to learn and give back. I finished my last day of school on my 50th birthday, what a present. Allen School provided me an overall education of what it would take to pass and be a Certified Professional Coder. A little advice, take advantage of what the AAPC has to offer in the form of study guides, it will help. Career Services lent me a big hand in landing a job in my new career, so take advantage of all the re-sources and tools that Allen School offers you. Joanie you are the best and like I told you, it is a JOB getting a JOB. Utilize all of your past experience to promote yourself, whether it be in sales, customer service, restaurant, or stay at home mother, these skills are what it takes to help you land that job, no, begin your career in the Medical Billing and Coding field. This Labor Day weekend was the first time in my life I had a paid day off of work, WOW!!
Hi, my name is Viviana Osorio Robles, I am 18 years old, and graduated from Moon Valley High School in May, 2013. I am one of the proud dream act student to be attending the Allen School. This is the best choice I have made, the teachers along with my advisor Jesse and the staff are just absolutely amazing. The Allen school is every-thing I was looking for, not just economically, but also because I know this is a start to a better future. In the couple of weeks I been here, they have been excellent so far, yes there is still so much to learn knowing this is just the beginning. The teachers here are very helpful and like Dr. Hunt says “I will drill all this into your head even though I might not be your favorite now, you will thank me later.” I know that I will get everything drilled into my head in order for me to succeed and become a professional medical assistant with all the support you get from the teachers, the staff, and the advisors here at the Allen school. I honestly don’t think there is a better school then the Allen School. I highly recommend this school because it’s the best medical assistant school and has provided me a great start into the medical field and a bright future ahead.
My experience here at the Allen School has been a unique one. I, honestly, was always interested in the healthcare setting, but it is normal to feel nervous in this field as well. I was so nervous when it came to the hands-on assignments because I came to this school with the mentality that there was no room for mistakes. Every day I push myself because I know what I am capable of and with the help of the phenomenal staff here at the Allen School, I grow each day and I continue to grow. I’ve met people that will leave footprints on my heart.
My classmates started off as strangers and are now considered family. We all vowed to take this journey together and as the months went on we all became each other shoulders to lean on. We all had stories, and all the stories made me realize why am I really here at the Allen School and that is to live the life I desire and deserve. I never thought I would make it this far the day I decided to look into the Allen School and when I received my tour I was still unsure as to what I really wanted to do but Ms. Denise insisted she knew I really wanted it, and I did. I just want to say thank you to The Allen School for everything and thank you to my support system. My main focus is to make everyone proud!
The Allen School has helped me establish friendships among my instructors and my peers. It has also helped me with achieving the goals I have set forth, prepared me for a career in a growing field and allowed me to set standards for myself.
The online classroom was a great experience for me. With the class size being small, if we didn’t understand or needed more time to get material completed, we were assisted. It was easier to comprehend when you could hear and speak in the classroom and to be able to share experiences with the rest of the class. I have built so many relationships with my peers that who were always there to help me if I was struggling. I wanted to be able to hear the instructor pronounce the medical terminology to know I was pronouncing it correctly. The online classroom with the headset allowed me to be able to do just that.
My advice to anyone going down this road would be that if I can do anyone can. This was an awesome way to go. The work load, at times, may seem a bit overwhelming but just know that with dedication and hard work it will really truly pay off in the end. The instructors are so supportive not just with school work but with the things that you may be going through in your everyday life. I had surgery while I was in school and I only took the one day (day of surgery) off from school and my instructors were there to offer me support as I was recovering and was in class the very next day. I give a huge “HI_FIVE” to all the instructors.
Allen School has turned my life around completely. When I first started the program I really did not know what to expect. As I completed my first courses, and moved on to the next set of courses I started to shine. There was a point in my training that somebody told me that life happens, we should not ever let the circumstances in our life stop us from accomplishing our goals. I took that to heart and it changed the direction of my personal life and professional life from that point on.
The online classroom was perfect for me. As long as I had internet connection, I could go to class.
One thing that was particularly helpful was attending the extra practice sessions. If I was unsure about something, whether it was coding or something else, the extra practice really helped to boost my confidence. During the classes, I formed real relationships with my classmates as well. People started as names on the screen and turned into faces with those names, stories of their lives, and true friends.
For the new students coming in, I would suggest to you to make friends with your classmates and also try to find somebody further along in the program to mentor you. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. The key is to make friends with somebody whose strength is your weakness.
The Allen School opened mind to new and also scary issues. Mostly, they have challenged me beyond, what I thought I could accomplish!
My class became a unit. When someone was not in class we called them. When they needed to tell the Professor that they would not be there, we told the Profes-sor. We still keep in touch and share notes.
I never worked so hard and studied so hard. I would like to tell incoming students, stay the course. Do not give up! Know you can do it!!!
I need to share, that I started classes with my eldest daughter and she quit at the last moment. It devastated me, but there was nothing that I could do to make that not happen. I believe it was not her time and I hope she tries again, but I stayed the course! Do not give up!! Keep on going if it is a uphill climb, you can do it, you can do it!!
“Allen School began my professional journey in the medical field. I learned valuable information in the program that helps me understand and grow in my professional life. Allen School taught me a skill that I have come to learn is so very valuable! In October 2009 I was hired to do scanning for a local physician’s office. As I grew in my scanning position I started to understand how to apply coding and billing and how it worked in the setting of the physician’s office. I decid-ed to go back to school and graduated as a medical assistant in 2011, knowing and understanding medical coding and billing actually helped me to pass some of my medical assistant classes! I was promoted to a referral specialist a few months afterward. Most people think that medical referrals are simply picking up the phone and making a phone call.
“There is a lot more to it than anyone realizes. I use coding on a daily basis. You need to know CPT codes to order tests or to pre-certify a test with a patient’s insurance company. You need to know ICD codes in order to give a diagnosis code to a physician’s office, order a test or also pre-certify a test with an insurance company. Coding is used throughout the medical field, it is very valuable. Personally my career has been very rewarding, I can’t complain about the pay—it is very rewarding.
“Despite what I had heard about online school, it is very demanding. You need to keep yourself focused on your daily work. Your success will depend on your self discipline. Some people feel as if you can’t get a good education unless you are in a classroom and I can assure you that is not the case. When going to school online you have to prove that you know what you’re doing. I have several friends that I still keep in touch with! We like to keep in touch and see how each other are doing. You get close with your classmates – you spend a lot of time together in class!
“Don’t ever be afraid to ask questions. Don’t feel “stupid” because you need something to be made more clear to you. You may not be the only one who is sitting there with that question and you may need to understand what is unclear in order to build on something else you learn the following week!”
Wow, Where do I begin!? I just wanted to share my experiences with the Allen School. I have never had such great teachers in my life. The teachers that I have had at Allen School are sincere about teaching and you can tell. They have so much patience, understanding, and are extremely experienced. They have a sense of humor and are always, always willing to go the extra mile to help you succeed. I am going to miss my teacher’s when I leave Allen School, everyone of them. We have become a family at Allen School not only with the teacher’s but also with the students. They stay on top of e-mails and really make an effort to do whatever is possible for you. It’s going to be sad when I leave but also I now have an education. There is no other school like Allen School that I can find that are literally there with you in class, which is a big help. The teacher’s try to make class run as smoothly as possible which makes me love being in class literally everyday. This was an awesome experience here at Allen School.
When I first started thinking about returning to school at the age of 62 I was very nervous. I heard about online education and it was a good match for me because I had 2 knee replacements earlier in the year.
However, after talking with Gaby Levoyer she made me believe in myself and for the first time in a long time felt that I might be okay. So, I took a chance! And after the first week I wondered what I was thinking. Fortunately Gaby warned me the first couple of weeks would be an adjustment and I would have to get back in school mode, but to be patient.
First time around I did not know how to study because I never had to in high school. Well, I learned very quickly. Fortunately, the Allen School Professors are wonderful and my classmates are the best! We have been a “family“ since day one with Gaby and my family/classmates support each other with our struggles. Well, long story short I am now about 8 weeks from completion and have been on the Platinum Honor Roll since the first semester! I love school including my teachers, being online, and all my classmates. I recently applied for a job as a Virtual Utilization Coordinator. I may not get it, but I felt confident enough to apply and my skills are a good match. What a great way to go into retirement. I am so happy I took the step with Gaby to return to school and did it through Allen School.
