Question

Case 6-16: Merit Raise

You graduated from a Baccalaureate Health Information program 3 years ago. You obtained your RHIA credentials 6 months after graduation and have been coding at the county hospital since graduation. There are 4 inpatient coders, including you. The coding supervisor has a long tenure with the hospital and has acquired her certified coding specialist (CCS) credentials, but she does not have a college degree to accompany it. You short-term career goal is to advance in salary and obtain a managerial position. You suspect, and have heard, that your coding supervisor is paid a salary much greater than yours.

How might you seek an increase in pay from your current employer that is a more comparable salary to the market scale for RHIA inpatient coders?

Answer 1

1. To obtain managerial position, you need to upgrade your subject knowledge by taking the certified coding specialist credentials, as you have graduated 3 years ago, therefore enrolling for short term courses will increase your credibility when considering for managerial position.

2. You can directly speak with the human resource department of the hospital, demanding for salary hike, as you have college degree and a 2.5 years of experience as a coder, which makes you qualified to ask for hike.