Starting a Medical Coding Career and Making an Impact Online | AAPC Social Hour

Resilience, Reinvention, and Coding: Myra Simmons & Renee Baucum's Stories | AAPC Social Hour

Alex and Dave are back with two incredible members of AAPC's Chapter Advisory Board: Myra Simmons and Renee Baucum. Both share deeply personal stories of resilience, from Myra's journey from living on the streets of DC with her young son to becoming a Director of Coding and adjunct professor, to Renee's path through being a military spouse, single motherhood, and divorce while serving as a chapter president. Myra and Renee open up about finding their specialties (surgical coding and inpatient CDI), navigating remote work, building community through local chapters, and why mentorship changed everything for them. They also share advice for newly certified coders on getting that first job: get involved, get networking, and let your local chapter be your launchpad. Plus, get updates on RISKCON (June 23-24, virtual, still time to register), upcoming travel to the Seattle Regional and HealthCon DC, and a peek behind the scenes at AAPC's conference planning. In this episode: - Myra's journey from homelessness to healthcare leadership - Renee's path through CDI, local chapters, and the CAB - Advice for new coders on landing your first job - RISKCON registration details (member price $695) - Why local chapters are the heart of AAPC Register for RISCON: aapc.com #aapc #medicalcoding #medicalbilling #healthcarerevenucycle #cdi #riskcon #aapcmembers #localchapters #cpc #inpatientcoding

HEALTHCON Highlights, RiskCon Preview & What's Next for Risk Adjustment | AAPC Social Hour

RECORDED MAY 13, 2026 Fresh off HEALTHCON in Dallas, Corella Lumpkins, and Dawn Carter reunite to share their biggest takeaways: the energy of 1,000+ like-minded healthcare professionals to the game-changing breakfast networking session. Then, get the inside scoop on RISKCON (June 23–24, fully virtual!) featuring 16 sessions and 12 CEUs focused on risk adjustment, value-based care, and the shift from retrospective to proactive strategies. Dawn and Corella break down their sessions, including a legal and regulatory lens on risk adjustment, the past/present/future of risk adjustment, and how to succeed in value-based care without reinventing the wheel. Whether you're a coder, auditor, CDI specialist, compliance professional, or analytics team member — this conference was built for you. In this episode: - HealthCon 2026 recap & the "happiness hangover" - What makes RiskCon different from every other conference - Session previews from Dawn Carter & Corella Lumpkins - Future HealthCon locations: DC, San Diego, Chicago & more - How AI and innovation are reshaping risk adjustment Register for RiskCon: https://www.aapc.com/events/riskcon/riskcon [https://www.aapc.com/events/riskcon/riskcon] Seattle Regional, October 2026: https://www.aapc.com/events/healthcon-regional [https://www.aapc.com/events/healthcon-regional] HealthCon 2027, Washington, DC: https://www.healthcon.com/ [https://www.healthcon.com/] #aapc #riskadjustment #riskcon #healthcon #valuebasedcare #medicalbilling #medicalcoding #healthcarerevenucycle #ceu

From Welder to Officer of the Year: Sandra Roth's Incredible Journey + DOCUCON & AUDITCON Preview | AAPC Social Hour

RECORDED MAY 27, 2026 Dave is back! After missing last week's Social Hour with a post-HEALTHCON bug (partly thanks to some very active celery juice), he joins Alex from the Oregon coast to catch up and dive into what's coming next on the AAPC conference calendar. First up, get the details on DOCUCIB, the fully virtual boutique conference happening August 11 and 12. With fourteen sessions across two tracks, plus general sessions and a networking lunch, it's built for CDI professionals and healthcare leaders who want to go deep on documentation improvement, AI and emerging technology, audit defense, compliance, and provider engagement. Early bird pricing is live right now at $595, a $200 discount, so don't wait. Then, meet Sandra Roth, AAPC's 2025 Officer of the Year and president of the Oklahoma City chapter. Sandra's path to medical coding started with nine years of welding, eight years as a tour guide in Puerto Vallarta, and a Harley ride where she heard a coding advertisement and thought, why not? In just five years, she earned four certifications, traveled to seventeen cities for chapter events, and helped OKC win both Officer of the Year and Chapter of the Year. AAPC's own Kristen Reber rounds out the episode with a look at what's new for local chapters, including virtual deep dive meetings, the Officer Hub on aapc.com, and the buzzy bee theme powering this year's May Maynia events. DOCUCON, August 11-12 (virtual, early bird $595): https://www.aapc.com/events/docucon [https://www.aapc.com/events/docucon] Seattle Regional + AUDITCON, October 2026: https://www.aapc.com/events/auditcon [https://www.aapc.com/events/auditcon] #aapc #medicalcoding #medicalbilling #healthcarerevenucycle #cdi #auditcon #aapcchapters #officerof theyear #maymaynia #cpca

From Broadway to Coding & Becoming an AAPC Instructor | AAPC Social Hour

From Broadway stages to the business of healthcare, Matty Oaks-Dougherty’s coding journey is anything but ordinary. In the latest #iamaapc broadcast, Matty joins us to share how he went from professional dancer to medical coder, influencer, AAPC content contributor, and VILT teaching assistant. His story is a great reminder that there’s more than one path into this profession. We’re also joined by AAPC Director of Education Operations Kris Taylor, who shares why AAPC certified instructors are so important and how members can take the next step toward becoming one. Watch the episode and get inspired by two voices helping shape the future of medical coding education. #iamaapc #aapc #medicalcoding #medicalcodingcareer #medicalcoder #healthcarebusiness #revenuecycle #medicalbillingandcoding #aapccertified #medicalcodingeducation

Introducing the New CVBA + Betty Hovey’s AAPC Journey | AAPC Social Hour

Recorded April 8, 2026 Join us for the latest AAPC Social Hour featuring Katherine Abel as she introduces AAPC’s new Certified Value-Based Administrator (CVBA) credential. Also joining us is Betty Hovey, an AAPC member since 1996. Betty shares her career journey and reflects on how AAPC has evolved over the years. Betty is also featured in the April edition of AAPC The Magazine. Learn more about the CVBA here: https://www.aapc.com/certifications/certified-value-based-administrator-cvba-certification [https://www.aapc.com/certifications/certified-value-based-administrator-cvba-certification] #aapc #medicalcoding #valuebasedcare #healthcarecareers #aapcsocialhour