When life became overwhelming for Corry Spencer, she found it difficult to get out of bed and go to work but supportive instructors and a new career in Medical Billing and Insurance Coding proved to be exactly what she needed to calm her anxiety.
Prior to attending the Medical Billing and Insurance Coding Program (MBIC) program at UEI College in West Covina, Corry had only had one job, where she worked her way up through the company for over 20 years. She worked in the warehouse for a large retail chain, supervising and training new employees. After all those years she was ready for something new, but a series of family deaths took a toll on her mental health.
“I lost 11 family members in a matter of 2 years, so my anxiety got the best of me,” she said. “I got let go because of it, for not working so many days because of major depression and not wanting to get up and leave anywhere.”
As she sat on her couch, feeling even more depressed over her lost job, Corry saw a post about UEI College on Facebook and she decided to check it out.
Enrolling in the Medical Billing and Insurance Coding Program was the first step, but Corry was a bit timid at first.
“She went through a lot with her previous job,” said Leonida Vergara, MBIC Program Administrator. “It was more training people and being the top leader but here she is learning something new. Initially, she was like ‘can I really do this?’ It was all about reminding her that yes, she can.”
With time and practice, Corry began to see the benefits of sitting quietly at a computer.
“I was able to focus on working on a computer and not have all these other things going through my mind,” she said. She was caught off guard when her instructor asked her to be a student ambassador.
“I knew she wanted to help, and I knew her background, being a leader at her old job,” Leonida said. “She wanted to help the students succeed as she was. Having that ambassador responsibility helped her a lot. It helped her believe in herself.”
The confidence that came with being an ambassador also helped with Corry’s mental health.
“I did take medication for my anxiety but I stopped taking it because I started feeling a lot better about myself and was able to concentrate more on helping the patients or even the students when I was an ambassador at UEI,” Corry said. “I like to help people.”
IT’S JUST A WHOLE NEW WORLD FOR ME’
Corry managed to get straight A’s throughout the program and stay on the honor roll. She was hired by the site where she completed her externship.
The best part about medical billing and insurance coding, to Corry, is the opportunity to keep learning. She said she’s inspired by the knowledge her supervisor has and she can’t wait to get to that level. Some day she hopes to do medical billing and insurance coding for a hospital.
“I feel really good about myself,” she said. “I do have my moments, but I can take a step back. I’m proud of myself for where I came from, having all that anxiety, to I really want to go to work now and learn. Having anxiety, I didn’t want to get out of bed and go to work but I needed to go to work to provide for my family. Now I can go and do that. It’s just a whole new world for me. I’m really enjoying myself.”
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