Covid tester to clinical coder
A covid tester already meets 36% of what the clinical coder role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
59.7/ 100
1 How much of what a clinical coder is expected to do is already part of a covid tester’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the clinical coder role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A clinical coder role treats 5 of its required skills as things a covid tester already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate in healthcare
- follow clinical guidelines
- maintain healthcare user data confidentiality
- medical terminology
- use electronic health records management system
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A clinical coder role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a covid tester background worth leading with.
- already held use electronic health records management system working with computers
- already held health records management business, administration and law
- already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality assisting and caring
- already held medical informatics health and welfare
- already held medical terminology health and welfare
- already held follow clinical guidelines assisting and caring
All 7 carried skills, including the 5 the clinical coder role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn perform clinical coding procedures required
- still to learn review patient's medical data required
- still to learn manage healthcare users' data required
- optional, not held archive healthcare users' records optional
- optional, not held collect healthcare user's general data optional
- optional, not held collect statistics on medical records optional
- still to learn clinical coding required
- still to learn professional documentation in health care required
- optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
- optional, not held human anatomy optional
- optional, not held human physiology optional
- still to learn adhere to organisational guidelines required
- still to learn document management required
- optional, not held identify patients' medical records optional
- optional, not held health care system optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a clinical coder role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 clinical coding study this
- 02 document management study this
- 03 perform clinical coding procedures practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 7 skills that carry over
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
- already held medical terminology knowledge
- already held use electronic health records management system skill
- already held health records management knowledge
- already held medical informatics knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held manage digital documents optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held archive healthcare users' records optional
- optional, not held collect healthcare user's general data optional
- optional, not held collect statistics on medical records optional
- optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
- optional, not held identify patients' medical records optional
- optional, not held health care system optional
- optional, not held human anatomy optional
- optional, not held human physiology optional
- optional, not held manage digital documents optional
21 held skills the clinical coder role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise patients on infectious diseases when travelling skill
- not needed by the target role collect biological samples from patients skill
- not needed by the target role communicable diseases knowledge
- not needed by the target role comply with legislation related to health care skill
- not needed by the target role drive vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role empathise with the healthcare user skill
- not needed by the target role ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role ensure safety regulations in dealing with infectious diseases skill
- not needed by the target role health care legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement data quality processes skill
- not needed by the target role infection control knowledge
- not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role interview people skill
- not needed by the target role label samples skill
- not needed by the target role nursing principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform PCR covid test skill
- not needed by the target role preserve samples skill
- not needed by the target role prevent communicable diseases' outbreaks skill
- not needed by the target role sterilization techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn clinical coding required
- still to learn document management required
- still to learn professional documentation in health care required
- optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
- optional, not held health care system optional
- optional, not held human anatomy optional
- optional, not held human physiology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a covid tester become a clinical coder?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A covid tester already covers 36% of what a clinical coder is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 5 of which the clinical coder role treats as required.
What skills does a covid tester need to become a clinical coder?
7 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is clinical coding.
How hard is the move from covid tester to clinical coder?
Its learning distance is 59.7 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.